Awards
Winner of the 2004 Newbery Medal
Staff Pick
I like to recommend this title not only to young readers, but to teens or adults who are looking for light in the dark. Recommended By Junix S., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
"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.
Review
"Forgiveness, light, love, and soup. These essential ingredients combine into a tale that is as soul-stirring as it is delicious." Booklist (Starred Review)
Review
"Reader, I will let you imagine, for now, how these witticisms of our omniscient narrator come into play; but I must tell you, you are in for a treat." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Review
"[E]ntirely pleasing....[A] tale with twists and turns, full of forbidden soup and ladles, rats lusting for mouse blood...and all the ingredients of an old-fashioned drama." Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
Review
"This expanded fairy tale is entertaining, heartening, and, above all, great fun." School Library Journal (Starred Review)
Synopsis
The beloved, best-selling Newbery Medal winner now in paperback!
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 classic design, featuring a rough front and elegant gold stamping.
Synopsis
Tale of Despereaux, 12 copies,
Synopsis
The Tiger Rising, 4 copies,
About the Author
Kate DiCamillo lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is the author of
Because of Winn-Dixie, a Newbery Honor book, and
The Tiger Rising, which was a National Book Award Finalist.
Timothy Basil Ering is the author and illustrator of The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone, and he also created the cover image and interior black-and-white drawings for 33 Snowfish by Adam Rapp.
Reading Group Guide
QUESTIONS TO DISCUSS
1. How is Despereaux different from the other mice?
2. What happens when Despereauxs sister Merlot tries to teach him to nibble paper? How does this affect the rest of the story?
3. Why does the King tell the Princess not to speak with Despereaux? When Despereaux leaves the Princess, he says to her, "I honor you." Why?
4. Why does the Mouse Council call Despereaux before them? What is their decision?
5. Who is Gregory, and how does he help Despereaux?
6. Who is Miggery Sow? How does she come to be at the castle?
7. Who are Boticelli and Roscuro? Why does Botticelli tell Roscuro to take the red cloth from Miggery Sows father? What does Roscuro believe the cloth will do?
8. What does the Queen love more than anything in the world? Why is it banned from the kingdom?
9. What is Roscuros plan for the Princess? What does he think he will gain from this plan?
10. What do Miggery Sow and the Princess Pea have in common?
11. Who is the threadmaster, and what is his job? How does he end up helping Despereaux?
12. When Despereaux comes upon Cook in the kitchen, what is she doing? Why is Cook afraid?
13. When Despereaux goes down into the dungeon to save the Princess, what four things do the rats smell? Why?
14. Which two characters lose their tails in the story, and how?
15. Does Despereaux succeed in his quest to save the Princess? What is the outcome of his quest?
16. What does the author hope the reader will find in the story?
COMING TO TERMS
Learn what the following words mean and how to pronounce them:
adieu
chiaroscuro
empathy
furlough
perfidy
portentous
remorse
WHATS THE POINT...OF VIEW?
Author Kate DiCamillo tells The Tale of Despereaux through the voice of an omniscient narrator one outside the story who knows everything that happens to all the characters, including what theyre thinking and feeling. Whats more, the narrator sometimes speaks directly to the reader and helps guide him or her through the story. This type of narrative device was sometimes used by Charles Dickens and other writers of his day.
In some cases, the narrators voice may make you smile. In Chapter 30, for example, she has this to say about Miggery Sow: "Reader, as the teller of this tale, it is my duty from time to time to utter some hard and rather disagreeable truths. In the spirit of honesty, then, I must inform you that Mig was the tiniest bit lazy. And, too, she was not the sharpest knife in the drawer." What was your reaction when you read this?
In other instances, the narrator speaks to the reader about some powerful themes. Focusing on chapters 5, 28, 38, and 40, see if you can find examples where the narrator speaks to the reader about love, hope, empathy, and forgiveness. What does the narrator say about these themes? Does the voice of the narrator help you understand things about the story that you might otherwise have missed?
Did you enjoy having the narrator speak directly to you as you were reading?
A MATTER OF TIME
The Tale of Despereaux follows several characters. These characters dont know one another at the start of the story, but by the end they have come into each others lives. In the process, their destiny changes.
Draw a timeline for each of these characters: Despereaux, Roscuro, Miggery Sow, and Princess Pea. Use a different color for each. Include on each characters timeline the key events you know about that characters life. At what point do their timelines start to interconnect?
Imagine what a timeline might look like for each of these characters if they had never come to meet the other three.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
What do you think happens next in the story? Does Despereaux have other adventures? Does anything change in the dungeon? What is life like for Miggery Sow? Come up with more questions about what happens after The Tale of Despereaux. Write a story to answer your questions.