Mais, Oui! The mouse can read!

The Tale of Despereaux written by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering is a tale of Despereaux Tilling, the smallest mouse in a family of mice who are not interested in things outside of their mouse existence. Despereaux enjoys music and can read. This marks him as different and distances him from his mice peers. He falls in love with the princess named Pea and allows Pea to hold him. Because of his actions he is banished to the dungeon where the rats live. Despereaux's adventure is only beginning as he meets an angry rat named Chiaroscuro, a peasant girl named Miggery Sow who wants to be the princess, and works to gain the affections of the princess.



DiCamillo's Newbery-award winning work is a Disney-esque fairy tale with short chapters and wonderful illustrations throughout by Timothy Basil Ering. The author interacts with the reader by asking pointed questions, encouraging readers to look up unfamiliar words, and through the sprinkling of simple French vocabulary words.



The technique of questioning the reader was tiresome at first. As the story progressed, the way of interacting with the reader became less patronizing. However, the story is filled with deep themes and a beautiful, often times, poetic command of the language.



Recommended for grades 2-5.



Keywords: mice, rats, princess, newbery award, fairy tales, castles, dungeons.