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Loading... The Tale of Despereaux (2003)by Kate DiCamillo
read by a classmate. She appreciated how innocent it was, and how everyone was good in the end. Refreshing for 6-9 year olds who see so much negative in today's society.  micsanchez | May 10, 2013 |  This is one of my all time favorite books. Despereaux speaks to the small hero in us all. A must read for all elementary students. (  ) MrParks | May 8, 2013 | This is a great book. I love how it is broken down into the four 'chapters' that all take place in different times but it still keeps you connected. The narrators remarks throughout the story are funny and add a great level of interest to the overall story as well as help to keep it all connected. The characters are fun and engaging and I think a lot of people can relate to the feelings of Desperaux and he feels different from the rest of his family. This is a great book for readers of all ages and I would love to use it as part of the curriculum if I was taught English. ( ) RachaelH17 | May 7, 2013 | The thing that I like most about this book is that it's an easy and compelling read that opens up discussion for some serious topics. Furthermore, the entire book carries hope through some dark events. Also, as an interesting spin, even though there appear to be some bad characters, they still have some good characteristics. It makes all of the characters more human (even if they're not actually human). While a tale of fantasy set in a fictional time and place, there are very real connections to our own lives. The serious topics such as selling into servitude, physical and emotional abuse could also be used to discuss these very real topics in our own lives. Students who are often lacking information in this area could be given resources for who to talk to and where to go in real life situations. If a teacher wanted to be really adventurous in the connections to the real world, discussion could be had about human trafficking in our world today. This would be time appropriate as well since last November new legislation was voted into California law regarding human trafficking. (  ) pbailey1980 | May 4, 2013 | Reading The Tale of Despereaux to my children (age nearly 5 and 6) was the best reading experience we have had so far and the first that was a "real" enough book that I'm entering it in my library. The language in the story is beautiful, the plot keeps you moving along--enough that is predictable that you can follow it, but also many surprises and twists. It is a good introduction to nonlinear storytelling, as each of the successive parts begins earlier than the first and then they all converge together. And the characters are all flawed, but ultimately a combination of hope, forgiveness, storytelling and the metaphorical and literal light win out. But not in a complete happily-ever-after way, but in a complex and mixed way. In all of these ways, it is a good antidote to the black-and-white good and evil and the happily ever after of Disney. It taught my children about virtues and faults, while fully entertaining all of us. It looks like most of Kate DiCamillo's other chapter books are a little old for them, but that won't stop me from reading them on my own. ( ) jasonfurman | Apr 16, 2013 |
This funny, original story brings four different strands into a narrative whole, with well-developed fairytale characters. There's Despereaux, the heroic young mouse who would rather read books than gnaw them; Chiaroscuro, a rat living in a dark dungeon, who aspires to a life filled with light; Miggery Sow, a serving girl who longs to be a princess; and, of course, the princess herself, who looks and acts just like the princesses in Despereaux's beloved book of fairytales. Is contained inHas the adaptationIs abridged inHas as a teacher's guide
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The first book of four tells Despereaux's sad story, where he falls deeply in love with Princess Pea and meets his cruel fate. The second book introduces another creature who differs from his peers--Chiaroscuro, a rat who instead of loving the darkness of his home in the dungeon, loves the light so much he ends up in the castle& in the queen's soup. The third book describes young Miggery Sow, a girl who has been "clouted" so many times that she has cauliflower ears. Still, all the slow-witted, hard-of-hearing Mig dreams of is wearing the crown of Princess Pea. The fourth book returns to the dungeon-bound Despereaux and connects the lives of mouse, rat, girl, and princess in a dramatic denouement.
Children whose hopes and dreams burn secretly within their hearts will relate to this cast of outsiders who desire what is said to be out of their reach and dare to break "never-to-be-broken rules of conduct." Timothy Basil Ering's pencil illustrations are stunning, reflecting DiCamillo's extensive light and darkness imagery as well as the sweet, fragile nature of the tiny mouse hero who lives happily ever after. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson
(retrieved from Amazon Sun, 30 Jan 2011 15:17:40 -0500)
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Google Books — Loading...| Swap | Ebooks | Audio |
| 194 avail. 274 wanted |
(4.1)| 0.5 |  3 |
| 1 | 16 |
| 1.5 | 8 |
| 2 | 53 |
| 2.5 | 16 |
| 3 | 221 |
| 3.5 | 80 |
| 4 | 480 |
| 4.5 | 96 |
| 5 | 581 |
Two editions of this book were published by Audible.com.
Candlewick PressFive editions of this book were published by Candlewick Press.
Editions: 0763625299, 0763617229, 0763629286, 0763640808, 0763640778
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