Rating: 
Summary: I wish I liked it... I do, I do!
Review: A better idea in its conception than its execution. I enjoy stories where animals speak, and this one began with great promise. The initial tale of the mouse Despereaux is good, and it leads nicely into the story of the rat Roscuro. Unfortunately, once the book hits the story of the servant girl Miggery Sow, it looses itself. The Miggery Sow plotline is rather horrendous in the face of the others. In it, a girl's mother dies, her father trades her to a man that beats her soundly day in and out, and as a result she's nearly deaf. Once she arrives at the castle she becomes fat and beaten even more by her fellow servants. This would be all well and good if it was done with any sympathy at all. It is not. The girl is stupid and scenes of her beatings are told with a disturbingly jovial tone about the, "clouts" about the ears. There is no sympathy for the working poor in this book. The only sympathetic lower class character, the jailor Gregor, is ceremoniously killed off without so much as a final scene. The cook is suddenly supposed to become a likable character when she serves soup to Despereaux, the author hoping the reader will forget that not 100 pages ago she was last seen beating a 12 year-old girl. The princess, who has grown up rich and beautiful, has no flaws. Her father is stupid, but not evil. In the end, this story has attempted to be about dreams and how they don't always come true. This is all well and good, but it feels patched together. It is almost as if the author didn't know where she was going with the plot as she wrote. For a much better story of a young mouse learning about courage, see "Redwall" by Brian Jacques or Avi's "Poppy". All this isn't to say I don't wish I loved it more. I do! But somehow I just couldn't love it as everyone else did.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Read Aloud
Review: This is another well-crafted Dicamillo treasure. I am currently reading it as a read-aloud to my 4th grade class, and they can't get enough of it. The language used to describe the characters and setting is rich and sparks the imagination. The children love how there are four books in one that all tie together at the end, they enjoy making the connections between the books. It really encourages some higher-level thinking, and it's just a very enjoyable story.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Book
Review: I liked this book a lot. It's about a little mouse named Despereax, a rat named Chiaroscuro, and a poor serving girl named Mig who all eventually end up in a castle at the same time together. Desperaux's mission is to rescue the Princess Pea, Roscuro's is to have revenge on Pea, and Mig's is to switch places with the princess, serving girl to princess and vice versa. It may sound like one of the cheesey Princess in a castle stories but it's better than that. It's definitely not cheesey. I also liked the fact that Kate DiCamillo doesn't go on and on and on about the setting of the story if you know what I mean. It was a beautiful morning blah blah it was crisp and sunny la la blah.
This is a good book that you'll want to get while it's on sale. Kind of expesive. Happy Reading!
Rating:
Summary: A Small Mouse in Love With a Princess
Review: The Tale of Despereaux is a book about a small mouse who is in love with a princess. He is sent to the dungeon for not acting like a mouse. He comes out, goes back in to save the princess, and comes out again with the princess.The characters in this book are Despereaux, the confident mouse; Miggery Sow, the slow-witted servant girl; Chiaroscuro, the mischievous rat; and Pea, the sorrowful princess. My favorite parts of the book were Chiaroscuro's mischievous adventures, like when he frightens the queen and accidentally kills her, and when he lures Miggery to lock the Princess Pea in the dungeon and is threatened to be killed by Despereaux. I think this is a great book for kids ages 8-10. Once you start reading it, you won't want to stop!
Rating:
Summary: A fairy tale for the rest of us
Review: I approached DiCamillo's newest somewhat warily: a talking mouse is a long way from a girl and her dog, and a boy and a tiger. But I was soon drawn into the story and read quickly to the end to find out what would happen to these strange, intriguing characters. The next day, I read it again, slowly, to savor the language and wit of this gifted author. This is not a fairy tale for a three-year-old--this is a fairy tale for the rest of us.
Rating:
Summary: Dear reader, you will like this book.
Review: Coming across this book, I could barely stand not to buy it based on the illustrations and quality of the binding alone. The paper is very fine, with a feathered edge that gives it an old-time feel. That aside, after reading it I was impressed. It is very dark, reminiscent of a Grimm fairytale. Other reviews complained about it being too dark, but isn't that the norm for a classic fairytale? The adventure is related with a wry wit that never fails to impress. The story is structured in a series of "books" that comprise the single book. Each "book" tells the background and tale of a single character, then the final book brings all the characters together to a splendid resolution. This structure made it very easy for my children to focus and understand since each book concentrates primarily on a single character.
Rating:
Summary: Derivative--It's Okay,But Not Fantastic
Review: I LOVE fantasies and have been reading them for years---WAYYYY before Harry Potter and his imitators came along.
(And, by the way, Harry himself is derivative of Diana Wynne Jones, Roald Dahl & a host of other writers)
I read Brian Jacques books before they go out on the library shelves.
I swallow Tamara Pierce books whole--or would if I could.
I loved The Thief Lord,and Artemis Fowl, and I was prepared to love this book too.
But I don't.
It's what in my old neighborhood would be called a mish-mosh.
One moment it seems to be a charming fairy tale, the next it's dark fantasy that reminds me a lot of the "Deptford Mice" series.
(The whole underground with the rats world in the dungeons could have come right out of that series!)
As for the princess,her family and the whole soup thing, it seems straight out of something like James Thurber's Many Moons.
Characters are not consistent. I had no idea whether or not I was supposed to like the kitchen maid--and mostly I just found her durned annoying!Despereaux himself never seemed much of a three dimensional character--you couldn't really get to CARE about him.And his mama's French mannerisms may have been intended as humor, but it fell flatter than a crepe for me! Above all, the arch narration really annoyed me--"I must tell you now, dear reader"--just GO AWAY and let the story unfold!
As I said, I might have loved this when I was a kid--and it is meant for kids.
But a really REALLY good children's book will be so special even an experienced readers will adore. And this one just isn't that good.
Why is this book being so touted? Is it perhaps the beautiful book design, art and the fact that it was written by an AWARD WINNING WRITER? Cynic that I am, I have to wonder...............
Rating: 
Summary: How Could She Do It!
Review: After reading with absolute pleasure Kate DiCamillo's wonderful All Because of Winn-Dixie, I looked forward to reading her new book with such relish. And the first few chapters were delightful. The wonderful little mouse who reads rather than nibbles the pages of a book and later pledges his honor to a princess suggest that another terrific read is to follow. The author's funny and cozy little comments at the end of the chapters pull the reader even closer as she begins her story. But then... it seems as if DiCamillo decides to write for a different audience. A little book about a mouse would seem to be for children, wouldn't it? Not this one. I would certainly stop reading to young children here as the cruel characters, frightening settings and ugly turns of the plot change the direction the book has begun. Further, in the last few chapters, the author seems to tire of her task and to just want to get the thing over. She tosses in all kinds of weak events and details to patch together an end to her story. How could she do it to her readers after her other wonderful books?
Rating:
Summary: I LOVE THIS BOOK!
Review: I love this book. Any child my age will love it too. It's great, beacause there are 3 characters, and they all come together at the end. GET THIS BOOK! IT ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Sure to become a classic
Review: I read to my kids every night though they are perfectly capable of reading to themselves. It's hard to find a book that appeals to both of them. This book does the job well. I have a boy age 9 and girl age 6 and they are both enthralled with it and eager to find out what happens next. With the short chapters and pictures scattered throughout, it makes it very easy to read a few chapters each night and yet keep us looking forward to the next night's reading. We also picked up this book because of its cover just like a previous reader. Love the look, the feel, the size of this book. It's a pleasure to read and we can't wait to find out how the story ends!
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