Rating: 
Summary: Enchanting Fable
Review: A few months ago, I read a little blurb about this novel, and I couldn't wait to read it. Then, it won the Newberry Award, and I finally got hold of a copy. It didn't disappoint. The Tale of Despereaux is one of the most enchanting little stories I've ever read, and I have a feeling it's going to go down as a true children's classic.The story is so entrancing. It centers around a mouse named Despereaux who just doesn't fit in with the other mice. He is born with his eyes opened. He sees a beautiful world that the others are blind to, and he is shunned because of it. He is able to hear music, and he is able to love creatures of other races. For instance, this tiny mouse falls in love with the human Princess Pea, and that begins quite a chain of events. Of course, not everything in the story is happy. There is also a dark world that the novel doesn't hide from. There are characters who have had little chance in life and have been harmed because of it. There are characters here who have lead dark lives and are trying to destroy Princess Pea and Despereaux. But, ultimately, this isn't a dark novel but one proclaiming a message about love and hope and the possibility of redemption. It is a beautiful little novel about having the courage to bring some light into the world. The Tale of Despereaux is an amazing novel for people of every age which will be read for an oftly long time.
Rating: 
Summary: A Story About Adventure and Love
Review: The Tale of Despereaux first tells you about a mouse who was born with his eyes open. His mother named him Despereaux, which means disappointment. She named him Despereaux because he was the only mouse in his litter to survive birth. Despereaux is different from other mice; for instance he likes to read.
Then you hear about Chairoscuro, a rat who, unusually, loves light. Last you hear about Miggery Sow, a young girl whose father sold her for a red tablecloth, a hen, and a hand full of cigarettes. All of those three characters are related to the Princess Pea. Despereaux is in love with her, Chairoscuro wants revenge on her, and Miggery wants to be her, and when Mig and Cairoscuro conspire to get what they both want, Despereaux must save her.
I liked this book because I like when everything is connected. In this case it would be the characters. Although I liked the book I did not think it was exciting.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful quest of a mouse in shining armor
Review: The Tale of Despereaux is a delightful story of a heroic mouse, a redeemable rat named Chiaroscuro, a forgiving princess named Pea and a neglected little girl, Miggery Sow, who gains back her remorseful father. Kate Dicamillo has done a wonderful job with bringing all of her animal characters to life in this fantasy tale of good vs. evil! Despereaux, the heroic mouse, is a delight and a non-conformist who marches to his own beat and cares not for what the other mice think about him. Falling in love with the Princess Pea, Despereaux is determined to save her from the evil doings of the rat Chiaroscuro who has a penchant for the light! Miggery Sow yearns to be cared for and loved and falls into cahoots with the very clever and charming Chiaroscuro. Despereaux's quest has him facing his own fears and he must learn to overcome them, only by facing them head on if he is to save his beloved Princess. Good versus evil, and light verses dark are the central themes to this wonderful tale and yet most importantly also are the messages of hope, forgiveness, and love. Dicamillo has skillfully woven them all together and blended all the characters to show that love does prevail! She also paints the realities of life, and shows that not everyone lives a charmed and enchanted "Disney-like" life. Great read and I am looking forward to more adventures from Despereaux. Heartily recommend this book to the young reader!
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous Book
Review: Tales of Despereaux is a great fantasy book. Despereaux is a mouse that was born with his eyes open. His family doesn't exactly think of him as a good mouse. He likes reading and adores Princess Pea. But when he breaks a rule of the mice, he gets sent to the dungeon! The dungeon is very dark and has lots of rats that aren't the nicest sort. One of the rats is Roscuro. When Miggery Sow comes to the castle, Roscuro wants to get Mig to help him get his revenge on the Princess. What will happen to Princess Pea? Will Despereaux survive the dungeon? Read this book to find out!(...)
Rating:
Summary: Deserves to be a newbery medal book...
Review: The Tale Of Desperaux is a story filled with adventure and mystery. Different tales about a mouse in one book. When I was reading The Tale of Desperaux, I couldn't put it down. It was a really good book and I enjoyed it very much.
Rating: 
Summary: a fun book
Review: I liked The Tale of Despereaux because it is an exciting, adventurous story about a mouse. It is a different story than what I'm used to because it is a story about a mouse that acts like a person. I would not buy it even though it is on the best seller list.
The Tale of Despereaux is about a mouse named Despereaux. It is also about a princess named Pea, a serving girl named Miggery Sow or Mig, and a rat named Chiaroscuro or Roscuro. Despereaux is a mouse that acts like a person. He loves to read and listen to music. Despereaux lives in a castle with Princess Pea, the love of his life. Miggery Sow was a young girl when her mother died. Her father traded her for a hen and a red table cloth. She was a slave for a few years, when a soldier came to announce that soup is illegal. Soup is illegal because the queen was eating her favorite soup when a rat fell in it. The queen fainted and died. The soldier found out that Mig was traded and he took her to the castle to be a servant not a slave. Mig has always dreamed of being a princess. Roscuro is a rat that lives to make people miserable. Despereaux is on a quest to save the princess from Roscuro and Mig.
I would recommend this book to anyone older than eleven. It is a great book if you to read about different characters and finding them at the same place at the end of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Artwork
Review: This is an engrossing story that will have you turning the pages. It is also very well illustrated. While giving this book 5 stars, I believe its subject matter may not be appropriate for all readers. For example, the book deals with the personification of animals (mice and rats), which may not set well with some, and includes some child abuse issues. However, the animals are a metaphor for real life, and feature characterizations typical of human society. The characters deal with prejudice, love, and a quest. The setting of the book is exciting and includes dungeons and various challenges.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful tale about hope, soup, and happily ever after
Review: I read and bought this on the same day, though it may seem an intimidating size for chldren (at 270 thick pages, it seems longer than it is, as it is double-spaced, has many beautiful black and white illustrations, and chapter breaks are common). Illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering, this John Newberry Medal winner was an absolute treat to read. The chapters, which are quite short, are split among four "books" which move from character to character, and have a wonderful tendancy to talk directly to the reader.
At its heart, this is a tale about hope. First, there is Despereaux, a tiny little mouse with big ears, who isn't very mouse-like, and breaks all sorts of mouse rules (especially the big ones: don't talk to humans, and don't let them touch you). When Princess Pea touches his head and says he's cute, this little mouse falls in love. An odd little guy, he has read a fairy tale, and takes it to heart, hoping that there is such a thing as a knight in shining armor, and a happily ever after.
The Princess herself is also a vivid and fun character, a young girl who isn't very used to not getting her own way, and has very little malice in her heart, and a whole lot of empathy.
The other two characters - Chiaroscuro the rat and Miggory Sow, the oft clouted mostly deaf, overweight servant girl, are both villains and not-villains - it's quite easy to feel sorry for them, to understand their plight, and realize that they, too, have hope.
It is a soft little story with some gruesome bits sure to make any child 'ooh' and 'aah' appreciatively, and it is definitely on its way to my nephew, who I think will get a kick out of talking mice swashbuckling with sewing needles, and cauliflower eared serving girls who bumble their way towards a better place. The prose in no way talks down to children by using overly simple languages - there are even passages that suggest the child look up a few words if they don't know them - and I'm always greatful for an intelligently written work.
So - do you believe in happily ever after?
'Nathan
Rating: 
Summary: An Awful Book!
Review: I HATE this book! It has a terrible story line that doesn't make any sense. It is a crazy book. And parts of it are very, very strange. When I first heard about it I thought that Despereaux falls in love with Princess Pea(what kind of name is THAT?) and some fairy or magic turns him into a prince or something like that. Instead we get a strange and confusing story. I give Kate one thing though, she certainly has a big imagination. I wouldn't buy this book, EVER!, so make sure you get it from the library if you still want to read it. But believe me, I'm a reader, BIG time, and this is definitely a book you don't want to read. How this got an award is a mystery!
Rating:
Summary: Agree with "Desperately Sad"
Review: This book bored me -- as was so eloquently put by Desperately Sad, The fact that this book is the 2004 Newbery Medal Winner is confusing and sad, and now I'm not the only reader who feels this way. I liked her other books, but not this one.
|
