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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
What do you get when you have a mouse who is in love with a princess and committed to knighthood, a dim-witted but endearing servant girl who wants to be a princess, and a rat who wants to steal the last bit of light in the castle for himself? You get The Tale of Desperaux, and what a tale it is.
This is a really great story told by a master storyteller. The story unfolds artfully, a blend of past and present events that tell a wonderful tale filled with really great lessons for people of all ages to learn. These are only a few:
Living in empathy is the way to live a full and happy life.
Retaliating in pain and anger has negative consequences.
Sometimes you should forgive to heal your own heart, not necessarily the heart of the person who wronged you.
I know I learned these lessons well when I first read it as an eight-year-old and I know they helped me growing up. I am glad that I decided to revisit this book ten years later.
This is a really great story told by a master storyteller. The story unfolds artfully, a blend of past and present events that tell a wonderful tale filled with really great lessons for people of all ages to learn. These are only a few:
Living in empathy is the way to live a full and happy life.
Retaliating in pain and anger has negative consequences.
Sometimes you should forgive to heal your own heart, not necessarily the heart of the person who wronged you.
I know I learned these lessons well when I first read it as an eight-year-old and I know they helped me growing up. I am glad that I decided to revisit this book ten years later.
WOW. I love Kate DiCamillo. Books like these are why I prefer children's books to adult books most of the time. It's a tale of adventure, betrayal, kindness, courage, and empathy, but most of all it's a tale of love. For a children's adventure story with talking mice and rats, it's a surprisingly realistic tale.
This book won the Newbery medal last year, so it is supposed to be the top of the class for middle readers.
The subtitle is "...being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread."
Yes, it's good. It's really really good, if you like fairly tales. It's also going to appeal to Lemony Snicket readers, because the author talks to the reader throughout, almost as if it were a 'tale-told-out-loud.' If you don't like talking animals or fantasy of any kind, however, this book will make you insane.
To sum it up: rats are bad, mice aren't great except for those who break the mouse-mold, princesses are beautiful, serving people aren't very bright and neither are kings, and dungeons are very very very dark. Oh, and you shouldn't outlaw soup just because the queen died of shock when a rat fell in her soup.
Cute, sweet, and worth an hour it will take you to read it.
The subtitle is "...being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread."
Yes, it's good. It's really really good, if you like fairly tales. It's also going to appeal to Lemony Snicket readers, because the author talks to the reader throughout, almost as if it were a 'tale-told-out-loud.' If you don't like talking animals or fantasy of any kind, however, this book will make you insane.
To sum it up: rats are bad, mice aren't great except for those who break the mouse-mold, princesses are beautiful, serving people aren't very bright and neither are kings, and dungeons are very very very dark. Oh, and you shouldn't outlaw soup just because the queen died of shock when a rat fell in her soup.
Cute, sweet, and worth an hour it will take you to read it.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A very engaging children's novel (though adults will love it too) about a mouse whose read too many adventure stories. Despereaux is determined to be the Knight in Shining Armor when Princess Pea needs rescuing. A delightful and enthralling story.
It is often hard to describe when or how you fall in love with a book, but I knew I loved this book from the first page. The more I read it aloud to the class, the more I loved it and the more they loved it. After every reading was done, the class groaned in unison and asked if we could possibly read one more chapter. To have read this book is a privilege, but to share that experience with my favorite group of children is a true gift. I can't wait to read this to my own children!
This is a tale of a mouse called Despereux who falls in love with a princess and is exiled by his mousekind to live in the dungeon with rats. This interwoven tale addresses issues such as ignorance, offence, abuse, courage, love and forgiveness. Beautifully written it is a book I’d recommend.
What a beautiful interesting tale of a hero, a villan, a princess and a young girl who no one cared about. I love how there's a narrator who speaks the reader, who guides us through the story via 4 sides of the tale. Its captivating and thought provoking and I still love it
I'm writing this for Haley, my granddaughter, who says this book is really really really good. Despereaux is a little mouse with giant ears who is very brave. My friends will enjoy this book.