The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, some Soup, and a Spool of Thread, by Kate DiCamillo is the story of a small mouse named Despereaux who is the runt of his family. His name almost seems too fancy until you realize that it means sadness or despair. It only sounds fancy because his mother has a penchant for French sounding names.
It's obvious that Despereaux is different from the rest of the mice he knows. He clearly thinks outside the box and doesn't follow standard mouse protocol. He prefers sounds to smells and likes music and books more than food. His siblings try to teach him how to be a proper mouse, but he fails miserably. Instead of being afraid of humans, he falls in love with one of them -- Princess Pea.
Because he can't fit in to the mouse community he is sent to the dungeon where he is expected to die at the hands (or paws) of the rats. Despereaux goes through many trials and tribulations and survives his ordeal. His love for Princess Pea wins out in the end and he actually saves her life and wins a place of honor in the palace.
I loved this book! It's such a delightful story that teaches children lessons about perseverance and not being afraid to be different. It also teaches about the strength that love provides. I couldn't put this down until it was finished.
The Tale of Despereaux has won the Newbery Medal and the audio version has won the ALSC Notable Recording Award. I recommend this for the 7-12 age bracket.
Keywords associated with this book: mice, rats, princess, king, queen, dungeons, castles, love, honor.
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