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The Tale of Despereaux

4.64

Interest Level	Reading Level	Reading A-Z	ATOS	Word Count
Grades 4 - 8	Grades 3 - 5	U	4.7	32375

"Forgiveness, light, love, and soup. These essential ingredients combine into a tale that is as soul-stirring as it is delicious." — BOOKLIST (starred review)

Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other's lives. What happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out.

From the master storyteller who brought us BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE comes another classic, a fairy tale full of quirky, unforgettable characters, with twenty-four stunning black-and-white illustrations by Timothy Basil Ering. This paperback edition pays tribute to the book's classicdesign, featuring a rough front and elegant gold stamping.

Paperback, 272 pages

Published on December 8, 2015 by Candlewick

ISBN-10: 0763680893

ISBN-13: 9780763680893

97 Book Reviews

DespereauxWednesday, June 7, 2017 at 7:51 am
This book is AWESOME!!!!!!!
armcginnSunday, May 21, 2017 at 10:29 am55 stars
Funny, touching, heroic and simply amazing all at the same time. I loved this book - it was downright awesome.
bluedog51Thursday, February 16, 2017 at 9:20 pm
VERY GOOD BOOK!
bluedog51Thursday, February 16, 2017 at 9:17 pm
Very exciting and amazing book!
gfsfvgfrrdrThursday, February 16, 2017 at 10:57 am
i love this book
bright1234Tuesday, February 14, 2017 at 9:21 pm44 stars
The Tale Of Despereaux is a very heart warming story of a mouse who is not liked by others and is different from a mouse in many ways. When Despereaux continues to not help his brothers and sisters find food and does not do what is is supposed to do, the mouse community decides to put him into the dungeon. When he is put into the dungeon, Despereaux does everything to get out of it. This is also the story of a Princess. I love this book!
happypug12Friday, October 14, 2016 at 12:43 pm44 stars
Reader, there's a reason that classics are classics; don't let their names fool you into thinking that only the grey-haired and elderly will enjoy them. There is something enchanting about the Tale of Despereaux. The simplicity is charming, and there is not a single chapter wasted talking about nonsense. Ms. DiCamillo gets straight to the point and the story goes by pleasantly well-paced. This tale about the true love of a mouse, the broken heart of a rat, the beauty of soup, and the wish of a maid with ears like cauliflower was truly delicious to read and is perfect for ALL audiences, from the young to the grey-haired and elderly. And such a meaningful message is delivered as well, a message that typically only the classic, down-to-earth stories tell. The message is: Life isn't fair. I feel that the more modern books tend to blur, smudge, or just completely hide that message with the words "and they lived happily ever after." But this book definitely hit the mark with a heart-warming tale of the tiniest mouse who refused to give in to the hopelessness and unfairness of the dark and instead chose to be a light.
lolgirl1234Monday, September 26, 2016 at 7:55 pm55 stars
ok wow i have read this book its soooo cool guys
lolgirl1234Monday, September 26, 2016 at 7:34 pm55 stars
Ok guys, i read this book ITS SO GOOD So mainly it like Dark vs light this is suspenseful the author describes things so well omg u got to have this book so this is wat happens: There is a mouse named despareuax his name means despair his mom is a diva i guess and his siblings are just... umm mean I guess so He loves light and stories while other mice eat the story books lol :D he likes humans (of course other mice don't) He fall in love with princess pea It's illegal to show urself to human he has enormous ears he had to got to dungeon Becuz illegal stuff lol The dungeon is DARK and I mean VERY dark He goes to dungeon well nowl lets talk about rats They eat mice ok to read the rest of story Buy it or borrow it from library believe me gurl or boi u gonna like it dude srry for ma language imma tomboy gurl so read this book
YareliWednesday, May 4, 2016 at 1:53 pm
In the book, The Tale of Despereaux, a tiny mouse is born in the gates of a castle. When he was born, he was born with his eyes opened. His mom was disappointed because he was the only one born alive from his litter. The mouse wants to live with the princess and listen to the music that the king played. But, since the queen had died because of a rat, the had had banished them. When the mouse goes to the dungeon he meets a few other rats that live in the dungeon. One of the rats is jealous of the princess, so he kidnaps her and puts her in the dungeon. When the mouse finds out, he tries to help the princess. Spoiler alert for the ending, he finds her, saves her, and they live happily ever after. I found this book very interesting because the mouse likes the princess. When I read the book, there was some words that were very interesting and they helped me learn new words. I would give this book a 5 star rating because it was full of twists and turns that always kept you wanting to read more. I would recommend this book for all readers, age 9 and above.