The Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread
By Kate DiCamillo
Illustrated by Timothy B. Ering
Newbery Medal 2004

This book unravels the tales of three very different but intriguing characters who all have the Princess Pea in common. First is the story of Despereaux, a small talking mouse with a big heart who can read and falls in love with Princess Pea. Second is the story of Chiaroscuro, a calculating talking rat who loves light and wants revenge taken out on Princess Pea. And lastly Miggery Sow, a servant girl who wants to be Princess Pea.

Despereaux is banished to the dungeon for professing his love for the human princess. Chiaroscuro is a rat who seeks the light of day away from the dungeon. The one day that he finally escaped to the lighted world, he scared the queen to death (literally) and is banished from the lighted world he loves and blames the princess for his misfortune. Miggery Sow, a girl the same age as the princess and who has lost her mother like the princess, was sold into slavery by her own father and yet dreams of being a princess like Pea one day. Each of their individual stories are separate (actually separate books within the book) and yet are intertwined and combined into the last section of the book with a very happy fairy tale like ending.

I liked this book because it took three very different and complicated character’s stories and told them to a point and then intertwined them, showing how they all related to one another in the last section of the book. Kate DiCamillo told a very complicated combination of stories in a very simplistic way so that even small children could follow and understand.

My reaction to this book was greatly influenced by the fact that I am an elementary librarian and I am always looking for children’s books that are interesting, can be read aloud and increase their vocabulary. This book does all three. First, the way the story is told (as three stories that combine into one) is unique and would keep my students guessing about the ending. Second, the narrator of the story is constantly addressing the reader directly, making for a great read aloud book. And third, many difficult words such as chiaroscuro or adieu are used and defined.

This book is similar to Kate DiCamillo’s Because of Winn Dixie in that she tells a detailed touching story with a happy ending that children can understand.

I learned from reading this book that an author can increase a reader’s vocabulary directly. This author did not try to hide the fact that she was defining words and increasing your knowledge. This may seem haughty to an older person, but is wonderful for the age group that I work with (4th and 5th grade.) I will definitely use this book with my students next school year.