Author : Kate Dicamillo
3rd Grade and Up
Despereaux
Despereaux,
Softcover, Spanish, Book, Kate Dicamillo,
3rd Grade and Up, 9788427932586, $11.99
Despereaux,
Hardcover, Spanish, Book, Kate
Dicamillo,
3rd Grade and Up, 9788427950047, $15.99
$119.86 for Story Collection Purple Books Set, Including 20%-Off, Free Shipping, and No Sales Tax : 2 Hardcover Spanish Books and 10 Softcover Spanish Books
Newbery
Medal
Kentucky Bluegrass Awatd
Kate DiCamillo,
author of the Newbery Honor book Because of Winn-Dixie, spins a tidy tale of
mice and men where she explores the "powerful, wonderful, and
ridiculous" nature of love, hope, and forgiveness. Her old-fashioned,
somewhat dark story, narrated "Dear Reader"-style, begins "within
the walls of a castle, with the birth of a mouse." Despereaux Tilling, the
new baby mouse, is different from all other mice. Sadly, the romantic,
unmouselike spirit that leads the unusually tiny, large-eared mouse to the foot
of the human king and the beautiful Princess Pea ultimately causes him to be
banished by his own father to the foul, rat-filled dungeon. The first book
of four tells Despereaux's sad story, where he falls deeply in love with
Princess Pea and meets his cruel fate. The second book introduces another
creature who differs from his peers--Chiaroscuro, a rat who instead of loving
the darkness of his home in the dungeon, loves the light so much he ends up in
the castle& in the queen's soup. The third book describes young Miggery Sow,
a girl who has been "clouted" so many times that she has cauliflower
ears. Still, all the slow-witted, hard-of-hearing Mig dreams of is wearing the
crown of Princess Pea. The fourth book returns to the dungeon-bound Despereaux
and connects the lives of mouse, rat, girl, and princess in a dramatic
denouement. Children whose hopes and dreams burn secretly within their
hearts will relate to this cast of outsiders who desire what is said to be out
of their reach and dare to break "never-to-be-broken rules of
conduct." Timothy Basil Ering's pencil illustrations are stunning,
reflecting DiCamillo's extensive light and darkness imagery as well as the
sweet, fragile nature of the tiny mouse hero who lives happily ever after. (Ages
9 and older)
School Library Journal : Grade 3 Up-A charming story of unlikely heroes whose
destinies entwine to bring about a joyful resolution. Foremost is Despereaux, a
diminutive mouse who, as depicted in Ering's pencil drawings, is one of the most
endearing of his ilk ever to appear in children's books. His mother, who is
French, declares him to be "such the disappointment" at his birth and
the rest of his family seems to agree that he is very odd: his ears are too big
and his eyes open far too soon and they all expect him to die quickly. Of
course, he doesn't. Then there is the human Princess Pea, with whom Despereaux
falls deeply (one might say desperately) in love. She appreciates him despite
her father's prejudice against rodents. Next is Roscuro, a rat with an
uncharacteristic love of light and soup. Both these predilections get him into
trouble. And finally, there is Miggery Sow, a peasant girl so dim that she
believes she can become a princess. With a masterful hand, DiCamillo weaves four
story lines together in a witty, suspenseful narrative that begs to be read
aloud. In her authorial asides, she hearkens back to literary traditions as old
as those used by Henry Fielding. In her observations of the political
machinations and follies of rodent and human societies, she reminds adult
readers of George Orwell. But the unpredictable twists of plot, the fanciful
characterizations, and the sweetness of tone are DiCamillo's own. This expanded
fairy tale is entertaining, heartening, and, above all, great fun.
Booklist : *Starred Review* Gr. 3-6. Forgiveness, light, love, and soup. These
essential ingredients combine into a tale that is as soul stirring as it is
delicious. Despereaux, a tiny mouse with huge ears, is the bane of his family's
existence. He has fallen in love with the young princess who lives in the castle
where he resides and, having read of knights and their ladies, vows to
"honor her." But his unmouselike behavior gets him banished to the
dungeon, where a swarm of rats kill whoever falls into their clutches. Another
story strand revolves around Miggery, traded into service by her father, who got
a tablecloth in return. Mig's desire to be a princess, a rat's yen for soup (a
food banished from the kingdom after a rat fell in a bowl and killed the queen),
and Despereaux's quest to save his princess after she is kidnapped climax in a
classic fairy tale, rich and satisfying. Part of the charm comes from
DiCamillo's deceptively simple style and short chapters in which the author
addresses the reader: "Do you think rats do not have hearts? Wrong. All
living things have a heart." And as with the best stories, there are
important messages tucked in here and there, so subtly that children who are
carried away by the words won't realize they have been uplifted until much
later. Ering's soft pencil illustrations reflect the story's charm.
Story Collection
Purple Books :