The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread
by Kate DiCamillo
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Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
EVERYONE!!
I picked this book up on a whim in the Barnes & Noble because I liked the look of the cover and the jagged edges of the paper that gave it a "classic" feel. I was looking for a new bedtime book to read to my children - 2 and 6 at the time. We like to read a bigger book, one chapter each night - for bedtime stories. I read the description and thought it sounded like a good idea so I went ahead and bought it (which is REALLY unusual for me - I can be a cheapskate!) It is by far so...more
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Read in January, 2008
Kate DiCamillo, author of the Newbery Honor book Because of Winn-Dixie, spins a tidy tale of mice and men where she explores the "powerful, wonderful, and ridiculous" nature of love, hope, and forgiveness. Her old-fashioned, somewhat dark story, narrated "Dear Reader"-style, begins "within the walls of a castle, with the birth of a mouse." Despereaux Tilling, the new baby mouse, is different from all other mice. Sadly, the romantic, unmouselike spirit that leads the...more
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Read in March, 2008
OK, so now that I've thought about what I really think about this book, I'm changing my rating from 3 stars to 2 stars. There was more that I didn't like than I liked. After hearing a lot good reports about this book, I think I was expecting something different. I liked the idea of the light versus dark. I liked the unlikely friendship between the mouse and the princess. I liked the forgiveness. And I liked that it ended up "happily ever after", for the most part.
I started out rea...more
I started out rea...more
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3 comments
Read in February, 2008
This is a really beautiful little book. It is lovingly designed, with an old fashioned spine, pretty illustrations and parchment like paper with torn (or mouse eaten) edges. It was so interesting to look at that I had to take it home.
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo is the story of a Mouse who is a Knight, a Princess called Pea, a Rat with a broken heart and a poor little peasant girl who want’s nothing more than to be a Princess. It is labelled as a children’s book, but I think ...more
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo is the story of a Mouse who is a Knight, a Princess called Pea, a Rat with a broken heart and a poor little peasant girl who want’s nothing more than to be a Princess. It is labelled as a children’s book, but I think ...more
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recommended to Tori by:
My teacher
recommends it for: 2nd-4th grade-ish
recommends it for: 2nd-4th grade-ish
I read this a looooong time ago, way back in 3rd grade, almost 4 years ago, recommended to me by my teacher, and I found it quite enjoyable. Let's see how much I remember... correct me if I get anything wrong.
A cute fairy tale about a mouse that falls in love with a princess, and then is rejected by his fellow mice, banished to the dungeon. There he meets a rat, Rosco or something like that, a rat that wants to see the light, the complete opposite of his rat friends, and I forget what happen...more
A cute fairy tale about a mouse that falls in love with a princess, and then is rejected by his fellow mice, banished to the dungeon. There he meets a rat, Rosco or something like that, a rat that wants to see the light, the complete opposite of his rat friends, and I forget what happen...more
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Read in April, 2008
today is the first day i got this book.i am on page 45.
i like reading this book because it talks about a mouse and how he starts to wonder around a castle he lived in with hes sister and brothers .on chapter one it talkes about a mouse who was born whos name was despereux the reason hes name is that is because his mom had some babbeys and evry time she had them they had died expects this one so the reason why she named him that is because she said she fells depressd and she thougth that the ba...more
i like reading this book because it talks about a mouse and how he starts to wonder around a castle he lived in with hes sister and brothers .on chapter one it talkes about a mouse who was born whos name was despereux the reason hes name is that is because his mom had some babbeys and evry time she had them they had died expects this one so the reason why she named him that is because she said she fells depressd and she thougth that the ba...more
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Read in February, 2008
I'll give props to fellow Minnesotan Kate DiCamillo for this book: the characters are interesting and have a lot of depth, and the story is both sweet and equally disturbing at times, proof of DiCamillo's ability to weave quite a tale.
I did not, however, understand the purpose of the two-page chapters. The book is beautifully and maturely written in a way that envelopes the reader, but breaking up the text in such short chapters quickly became annoying. I found myself not even bothering to...more
I did not, however, understand the purpose of the two-page chapters. The book is beautifully and maturely written in a way that envelopes the reader, but breaking up the text in such short chapters quickly became annoying. I found myself not even bothering to...more
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Read in April, 2007
Confession: I finished this book in one day. Why could I read so quickly? Definitely not because of my speed-reading capabilities! It’s because, despite being nearly 300 pages, it is short. :-)
I wouldn’t say it’s a truly compelling read (though it did win the Newbery Award), but it held my attention even if it truly was a book written for children. I read a lot of children’s and young adult books, but plenty of them are meaty enough that I don’t feel sheepish saying I've read the...more
I wouldn’t say it’s a truly compelling read (though it did win the Newbery Award), but it held my attention even if it truly was a book written for children. I read a lot of children’s and young adult books, but plenty of them are meaty enough that I don’t feel sheepish saying I've read the...more
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Read in February, 2007
Despereaux is a mouse who doesn’t act like a mouse. He likes to read, he likes music, and he falls in love with the princess. For this crime, he is sent to the dungeons to be killed by the rats. Roscuro is a rat who doesn’t act like a rat; he wants only to see the light, not torture prisoners in the dark dungeon. Through a twist of fate Despereaux and Roscuro find themselves pitted against one another, and Despereaux is given the opportunity to save his beloved princess.
DiCamillo’s...more
DiCamillo’s...more
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The Tale of Desperaux, a fantasy, is not a book I enjoyed very much. This was because of the age level at which it was recommended for. The story itself was a pretty good plot, but the characters were not a proper choice for this novel. This book is about a mouse named Desperaux Tilling who lives underneath a castle where another main character, Princess Pea, lives. Desperaux meets this princess, and they become friends quickly. However, the evil rats that also reside underneath the castle are ...more
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Read in February, 2007
The set up of the three main characters is fun to watch and the intereaction between the various characters is both touching and amusing. Unfortunately, I felt like the climax was a bit weak and rushed. With such a deliberate and careful set up, it was slightly upsetting to see the whole thing suddenly lumped together and then concluded, in my mind, rather clumsily. Still, few books can get everything right, and the enjoyment of the rest of the book greatly offsets any disappointment found in th...more
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Read in May, 2007
The Tale of Despereaux tells the story of a small mouse with large ears - an unlikely hero. Despereaux falls in love with the princess in the castle; upon seeing Princess Pea for the first time, he knows it is his destiny to be with her. Unfortunately, his fellow mice do not agree, and banish him to the dungeon.
Other characters are tied in - Roscuro, a rat who wants to be in the light (unlike the others); Miggery Sow, a dimwitted girl whose father traded her for a chicken and a tabl...more
Other characters are tied in - Roscuro, a rat who wants to be in the light (unlike the others); Miggery Sow, a dimwitted girl whose father traded her for a chicken and a tabl...more
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Read in September, 2007
A talking mouse falls in love with a beautiful princess, and, armed with only a needle, vows to rescue her from the clutches of an evil rat and a dull servant-girl. Admittedly, it sounds a bit (okay, very) trite. That was my mindset too, even after the librarian had gushed on and on about what a wonderful book it was (did she think I was going to read some LITTLE KIDS' fairytale?).
But two years ago, I was waiting backstage during a piano concert, bored out of my mind, when I found The Tale o...more
But two years ago, I was waiting backstage during a piano concert, bored out of my mind, when I found The Tale o...more
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I just picked this book off the shelf at the library one day and decided to read it with my kids. I know this won a Newberry Medal and all, but my kids hated it. They kept saying things like, "This is so depressing!" "I hope this gets better in the end." "Why is everyone so mean?" Against my better judgement, I continued reading to them! I kept thinking that it would redeem itself by the end (as my children hoped), but it didn't--at least in our humble opinions. I g...more
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recommended to Mister Jones by:
actually I got a free copy at a book fair
recommends it for: Satan's children
recommends it for: Satan's children
I was dumbfounded about this one; I thought DiCamillo's Because of Winn Dixie was a touching read and its characters sensitively portrayed, but this work is a completely different matter:
A sadistic rat who delights in suffering, and encourages suffering, a poor dumb gal who has been physically abused so much she has cauliflower ears, and a mouse who is degraded and berated for being different by his own family and sent to a dark dungeon. The whole thing's undermined by some dark, grim...more
A sadistic rat who delights in suffering, and encourages suffering, a poor dumb gal who has been physically abused so much she has cauliflower ears, and a mouse who is degraded and berated for being different by his own family and sent to a dark dungeon. The whole thing's undermined by some dark, grim...more
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A mouse falls in love with a princess…a rat hates living in the darkness of the dungeon and longs to live in the light…a serving girl wants to be a princess…The Tale of Despereaux is rife with impossible-to-resolve conflicts. Only in a fairy tale can a mouse find a way to marry a princess…a rat find a way to live in the light…a homely servant find a way to become a beautiful princess. Though much of the book feels like a fairy tale, the author chooses to go another direction at the end...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommended to Whit by:
Captainwhitney
So, here's the thing... I liked it - but didn't love it. I have a difficult time with stories where EVERYONE is an idiot except one hero (mouse or man) and although many characters redeem themselves in this book - and perhaps you will say that is the theme of this book, redemption... getting there wasn't so much fun for me. Plus, for a children's book I considered it to be a bit graphic with all the talk of bones and blood. But, we have established that I am a big baby. So, THANK YOU to my beaut...more
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This book (the full title being The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread)is so adorable and has done quite well for what at the first look seems to be a simple fairytale, requisite princess and a dungeon included. The narrator is a such a dear caretaker of the reader and the struggled observance of light and dark for Desperaux really tugs at you. There is much deepness and heart in this sweet novel and lots about hope as well. I can't explain it...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
people who like fantasy books
I read this book each year with my students and it is a big hit. It's such a great book because it touches on major themes, but in a fun way. Love, forgiveness, responsibility, loyalty are all major parts of the story.
A large emphasis is put on being yourself and not succumbing to what others might want you to do simply because it's "normal." Despereaux is a mouse in a French castle who does not do anything a normal mouse would do, i.e. scurry, hunt for crumbs, and keep away f...more
A large emphasis is put on being yourself and not succumbing to what others might want you to do simply because it's "normal." Despereaux is a mouse in a French castle who does not do anything a normal mouse would do, i.e. scurry, hunt for crumbs, and keep away f...more
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******listened to as unabridged audiobook********
Summary (CIP): The adventures of Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin.
Review:
This book was charming, funny, original, and entertaining. The performance by Graeme Malcom on the audiobook was fabulous. The characters were both endearing and flawed. The themes were complex, exploring family, betraya...more
Summary (CIP): The adventures of Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin.
Review:
This book was charming, funny, original, and entertaining. The performance by Graeme Malcom on the audiobook was fabulous. The characters were both endearing and flawed. The themes were complex, exploring family, betraya...more
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.12 (3006 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 4.10 (2524 ratings) number of reviews: 602popular shelves
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""There is nothing sweeter in this sad word than the sound of someone you love calling your name.""
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