The Tale of Despereaux
Kate DiCamillo (2003)
“A mouse who loves music and light and a princess falls in love with a story, and the story saves them both.”
At a Glance
Despereaux Tilling is a mouse born with oversized ears and open eyes who falls in love with a human princess, music, and light. His own community banishes him to the dungeon for breaking mouse law. Meanwhile, a rat named Roscuro, scarred by a moment of beauty that was taken from him, plots to destroy the princess. A servant girl named Miggery Sow, who has been sold and beaten and dreams of being a princess, is manipulated into helping. The three storylines converge in the dungeon, where Despereaux must rescue the princess with nothing but courage and a story.
Read full summary →Why This Book Matters
Won the 2004 Newbery Medal. Cemented Kate DiCamillo's reputation as one of the premier children's authors of her generation. Animated film adaptation (2008). Used in classrooms nationwide for its fairy-tale structure, its moral complexity, and its argument for the power of storytelling.
Diction Profile
Formal, archaic, deliberately literary — the register of a fairy tale told by a wise, warm narrator
High