The tally of enjoyable books featuring mice/rats on our Top 100 Childrens Books list has officially reached 2. You might recall that I was a bit wary about Mrs. Frisy and the Rats of NIMH, but ended up enjoying it tremendously. The outcome was similar with #22 on our list.
My first time reading The Tale of Despereaux was soon after reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane for the first time, as I was wanting to read more by Kate DiCamillo. I remember getting a tall glass of iced coffee and getting comfy on my porch to sit down and read this book. A few hours later, my coffee was gone and I had no idea how much time had passed, nor where my husband was or if I had missed any important meetings or whatnot, all because I had loved this book that much. I got caught up in the fabulous mouse protagonist Despereaux and his tremendous desire to please and love the princess. Told in a modern day fairy tale style, the third person voice is a bit strange as the author talks to the reader, but I found it quite endearing. With just a touch of evil mixed in, I feel as if this book is a great read-aloud to children to discuss human nature and the triumph of good over evil.
I was also more than thrilled to purchase a beautiful hardcover version of this book on my trip to Chicago, a version that I hope to read to my children and grandchildren for years to come.
The Tale of Despereaux
by Kate DiCamillo
Originally published in 2003
marisd
April 4, 2011 at 8:46 am
wonderful post! it makes me want to curl up today with a hot cup of coffee and read it given the overcast skies and the cold, blustery wind!
thatcovergirl
April 6, 2011 at 5:09 pm
Have you seen the movie for this? When it came out I wanted to read the book first. Still haven’t gotten around to reading or watching the film, but hope to some day!
Very cool how you see it as a read-aloud. I’m always interested in read-alouds as I want to do this with my kids some day!
literarywife
April 7, 2011 at 9:56 am
I have not seen the film because I loved the book so much, I didn’t want it to be ruined by the film. This book is definitely a great read-aloud!
Adriana
June 9, 2011 at 11:04 pm
I’m reading it right now! It’s so good. I kind of don’t want to watch the movie either for the same reason.