THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX by Kate DiCamillo

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
DiCamillo, Kate. 2003. The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread. Cambridge, MASS: Candlewick Press. ISBN 0439692202

2. PLOT SUMMARY
This Newberry Award- winning story is about how a frail, but intelligent and determined mouse rescues a princess from a devious (and perhaps misunderstood) rat who dupes a simple serving girl into being his accomplice. The first three ‘books’ individually give background information on the mouse, the rat and the serving girl and their relationship to the princess. (Book 1- Because he is seen talking to the princess, Despereaux is condemned to the dungeon by the Mouse Council. Book 2- Roscuro the rat frightens the queen to death [literally] when he forays out of the dungeon into the light. Book 3- Miggery Sow becomes a castle servant after the abusive man [to whom her father sold her] dies.) The fourth book weaves the fates of the characters together.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The voice of the narrator as storyteller is very strong in this novel. The narrator often addresses the reader directly through questions and explanation. Sometimes the narrator’s presence is amiable and enlightening, other times it is distracting or condescending. For example, on page 45 the narrator asks, “Reader, do you know what ‘perfidy’ means? ...you should look up the word in your dictionary, just to be sure.”

A number of themes are well-integrated into the plot. The story acknowledges the fuzzy gray space between good and evil (light and dark) and the flaws inherent in everything and everyone. It addresses the challenges of crossing boundaries of accepted notions of class, station and behavior. All three main characters are trapped by their circumstances, but manage to surmount these obstacles to a satisfactory degree, if not completely, in the end. The characterization of these individuals is well done, making them multidimensional and believable. Even the portrayal of the villain elicits reader sympathy. Perhaps the only weakness is in the characterization of the princess who is depicted as rather flat, even though she is ultimately the unifying element between the other characters.

The book moves at a rapid clip and is action packed enough to sustain interest. It is somewhat disjointed in that the four characters do not come together until the fourth and last book. It should be noted that the novel also contains 24 (including cover, etc.) charming, pencil-drawn illustrations by Timothy Basil Ering, which highlight, but are secondary to the text.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
From School Library Journal: “With memorable characters, brief chapters, and inventive plot twists, this fast-paced romp is perfect for reading alone or sharing aloud.”

From Voice of Youth Advocates: “At times, DiCamillo's new fantasy novel is charming, by turns sad, sweet, and mildly scary. At other times, though, the conceit of the narrator addressing the reader directly wears thin. The characters are all well limned, although the princess is, perhaps, too perfect.”

5. CONNECTIONS
*Other titles by Kate DiCamillo:
Because of Winn Dixie ISBN 0439250722
The Tiger Rising ISBN 0763618985
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane ISBN 0763625892
*Make soup
*Create a graphic representation of the light/dark metaphor
*Readers Theatre of Ch. 51- the climax
*Also try Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien ISBN 0689862202