The Tale of Despereaux Trade Book

I read this back in grade school! There’s a mouse, a princess, and a quest (the rest you can discover for yourself).

Despereaux is an unlikely hero but, armed with his sewing needle, the gang of rats he’s up against don’t stand a chance.

The story is completely immersive, to this day it makes me crave soup.

The Tale of Despereaux is the story of an unlikely hero. It reveals what happens when an overly tiny mouse with big ears dares to be different. He is fascinated by light, music, and a book left open in the library, but his peers do not approve. When Despereaux falls in love with the princess, the other mice condemn him to the dungeon. This usually means death, but Roscuro the rat intends to harm the princess, and Despereaux is determined to stop him. I enjoyed how the motivations of the key characters were subtly revealed, then brought together in clever… show more.

“Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark.” DiCamillo’s Tale of Desperaux follows Desperaux, a little mouse in love with a Princess. And while this description may sound overly saccharine and suitable primarily for younger children, this story’s exquisite prose and rumination on dark and light, and the damage that grief can cause is a must-read for everyone—even the most cynical adult. This is a book I have read countless times and the one I reach for when times are dark, and I need a little light. 

The Tale of Despereaux is one of my favorite books because it has such a classic, timeless feel to it. This isn’t a retelling, but rather a brand new fairy tale, with Princess Pea, a heroic mouse on a quest, a servant girl whose father sold her for a handful of cigarettes and a table cloth, and a kingdom that has banned the eating of soup. Kate DiCamillo manages to weave these interconnected stories together in a way that not only creates a modern-day fairy tale that will leave you on the edge of your seat, but also comments on… show more.