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Claire's review

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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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37190.The_Tale_of_Despereaux_Being_the_Story_of_a_Mouse_a_Princess_Some_Soup_and_a_Spool_of_Thread?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1168855193m/37190.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37190.The_Tale_of_Despereaux_Being_the_Story_of_a_Mouse_a_Princess_Some_Soup_and_a_Spool_of_Thread?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13663.Kate_DiCamillo">Kate DiCamillo</a><br/><br/>
  <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/21315794?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
  rating: 5 of 5 stars<br/>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 some of the best money I have ever spent.  The book is really that good. While technically a children's story, I could have read this as an adult before I had kids and loved the book just as much - it is a story that is so beautiful, classic and timeless.  The thing I think I love the most about her writing style is that she does NOT dumb anything down.  Not the language, characters, plot, theme or anything.  The style is like a story teller telling you the story, with some asides and speaking to the reader.  Which added so much to the story.  The book is paced perfectly (there were many nights we all wanted to just keep reading and reading!), and the chapters are perfect breaking points (I would not be surprised at all to find out that she purposefully chose the chapter breaks with nightly reading in mind - there is a wonder cliff hanger feel to each chapter ending.  Every night my son would look at me with big eyes and say - I wonder what is going to happen next??!!)  The themes are very complex, but everything is understandable even to young children (my 2 year old daughter was able to follow along without too much difficulty - but with a lot of word definitions!)  I liked that it dealt with such big themes like duty and love and heartache and redemption and the reality of the world around you.  (ie certain characters are not evil but mean, sometimes people do stupid things that you can't fix, etc.) I could go on all day about things that I loved and scenes that were so wonderful i can still see them in my head.  We have read this as a family for bedtime stories 3 times now!! And given the chapter a night pace and the size of the book, that is no small feat!  This is a book that I will save and give to my grandchildren.  I can't recommend it enough!!
<br/>
<br/>Also check out The Journey of Edward Tulane - we loved Despereaux more, but it is a very close call.  That book is very similar and also wonderful. 
  <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/633779?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Claire's review
rating:
recommended 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 some of the best money I have ever spent. The book is really that good. While technically a children's story, I could have read this as an adult before I had kids and loved the book just as much - it is a story that is so beautiful, classic and timeless. The thing I think I love the most about her writing style is that she does NOT dumb anything down. Not the language, characters, plot, theme or anything. The style is like a story teller telling you the story, with some asides and speaking to ...more 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 some of the best money I have ever spent. The book is really that good. While technically a children's story, I could have read this as an adult before I had kids and loved the book just as much - it is a story that is so beautiful, classic and timeless. The thing I think I love the most about her writing style is that she does NOT dumb anything down. Not the language, characters, plot, theme or anything. The style is like a story teller telling you the story, with some asides and speaking to the reader. Which added so much to the story. The book is paced perfectly (there were many nights we all wanted to just keep reading and reading!), and the chapters are perfect breaking points (I would not be surprised at all to find out that she purposefully chose the chapter breaks with nightly reading in mind - there is a wonder cliff hanger feel to each chapter ending. Every night my son would look at me with big eyes and say - I wonder what is going to happen next??!!) The themes are very complex, but everything is understandable even to young children (my 2 year old daughter was able to follow along without too much difficulty - but with a lot of word definitions!) I liked that it dealt with such big themes like duty and love and heartache and redemption and the reality of the world around you. (ie certain characters are not evil but mean, sometimes people do stupid things that you can't fix, etc.) I could go on all day about things that I loved and scenes that were so wonderful i can still see them in my head. We have read this as a family for bedtime stories 3 times now!! And given the chapter a night pace and the size of the book, that is no small feat! This is a book that I will save and give to my grandchildren. I can't recommend it enough!!

Also check out The Journey of Edward Tulane - we loved Despereaux more, but it is a very close call. That book is very similar and also wonderful. ...less

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