The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup,… (2003)

What do you get when you take a formula of princesses, unrequited love, a rat villain, and twist it for a new spin? You get Despereaux! A book where what you expect might not happen at all, the typical is spun on its head, and a small mouse goes on an adventure not quite like any other. Despereaux is the mouse equivalent of Dumbo, Cinderella, and a lot more. It's charming and a read that all should try at least once. ( )

A story about a misunderstood mouse who falls in love wtih Princess Pea, a real girl, a rat named Roscurio who lives in a dungeon, and an ugly girl name Miggery Sow and how all of their lives intertwine. A great new classic fairy tale. ( )

I've read the book and the movie. I haven't read it in a while but didn't like it. 🤷‍♂️ Kate DiCamillo really is a good author, but I feel like she needs to be writing poetry instead. (and Mercy Watson of course) The descriptions are so long and there's never a lot of danger.
I don't like animals being the main character or even a major plot of the book, so maybe that played a part, but still. ( )

I found the story to be odd, the mouse is in love with a princess. The redemption of the book is the theme of forgiveness. ( )

I read this story to my boys (8 and 10). They really enjoyed it. The story could perhaps have been better but the writing style was very enjoyable. The boys enjoyed answering when the author wrote questions such as "Dear Reader what do you believe?" ( )