brbrh1 align=centerfont face=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif color=#009966LornaKemble.net - Wildlife Zoo Animals/font /h1
 Search
 Advanced SearchView Cart   Checkout   
 Location:  Home » Animals » Fiction » The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of ThreadJanuary 8, 2009  
script type=text/javascript!-- google_ad_client = pub-1014475007611027; //160x90, created 1/22/08 google_ad_slot = 2798103672; google_ad_width = 160; google_ad_height = 90; //--/script script type=text/javascript src=http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js /script brbr script type=text/javascript!-- google_ad_client = pub-1014475007611027; //160x90, created 1/22/08 google_ad_slot = 2798103672; google_ad_width = 160; google_ad_height = 90; //--/script script type=text/javascript src=http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js /script
Categories
Zoo
Safari
Animals
Aquatics
Birds
Nature
Landscape
Sunset
Visits
div align=center script type=text/javascript!-- google_ad_client = pub-1014475007611027; //336x280, created 1/22/08 google_ad_slot = 0634485649; google_ad_width = 336; google_ad_height = 280; //--/script script type=text/javascript src=http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js /script script type=text/javascript!-- google_ad_client = pub-1014475007611027; //336x280, created 1/22/08 google_ad_slot = 0634485649; google_ad_width = 336; google_ad_height = 280; //--/script script type=text/javascript src=http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js /script /div
!-- Search Google -- center form method=get action=http://www.google.com/custom target=google_window table bgcolor=#ffffff trtd nowrap=nowrap valign=top align=left height=32 label for=sbi style=display: noneEnter your search terms/label input type=text name=q size=45 maxlength=255 value= id=sbi/input label for=sbb style=display: noneSubmit search form/label input type=submit name=sa value=Google Search id=sbb/input input type=hidden name=client value=pub-1014475007611027/input input type=hidden name=forid value=1/input input type=hidden name=ie value=ISO-8859-1/input input type=hidden name=oe value=ISO-8859-1/input input type=hidden name=cof value=GALT:#008000;GL:1;DIV:#336699;VLC:663399;AH:center;BGC:FFFFFF;LBGC:336699;ALC:0000FF;LC:0000FF;T:000000;GFNT:0000FF;GIMP:0000FF;FORID:1/input input type=hidden name=hl value=en/input /td/tr/table /form /center !-- Search Google --
The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread
The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread
enlarge
Author: Kate Dicamillo
Creator: Timothy Basil Ering
Publisher: Candlewick
Category: Book

List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $3.95
You Save: $4.04 (51%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $3.87

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars(388 reviews)
Sales Rank: 185

Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 4.9 x 1

ISBN: 0763625299
EAN: 9780763625290
ASIN: 0763625299

Publication Date: April 11, 2006
Release Date: April 11, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
b"Forgiveness, light, love, and soup. These essential ingredients combine into a tale that is as soul-stirring as it is delicious." ? BOOKLIST (starred review)/bbrbrWelcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other's lives. What happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out. brbrFrom the master storyteller who brought us BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE comes another classic, a fairy tale full of quirky, unforgettable characters, with twenty-four stunning black-and-white illustrations by Timothy Basil Ering. This paperback edition pays tribute to the book's classicdesign, featuring a rough front and elegant gold stamping.

Amazon.com Review
Kate DiCamillo, author of the Newbery Honor book IBecause of Winn-Dixie/I, spins a tidy tale of mice and men where she explores the "powerful, wonderful, and ridiculous" nature of love, hope, and forgiveness. Her old-fashioned, somewhat dark story, narrated "Dear Reader"-style, begins "within the walls of a castle, with the birth of a mouse." Despereaux Tilling, the new baby mouse, is different from all other mice. Sadly, the romantic, unmouselike spirit that leads the unusually tiny, large-eared mouse to the foot of the human king and the beautiful Princess Pea ultimately causes him to be banished by his own father to the foul, rat-filled dungeon.p The first book of four tells Despereaux's sad story, where he falls deeply in love with Princess Pea and meets his cruel fate. The second book introduces another creature who differs from his peers--Chiaroscuro, a rat who instead of loving the darkness of his home in the dungeon, loves the light so much he ends up in the castle in the queen's soup. The third book describes young Miggery Sow, a girl who has been "clouted" so many times that she has cauliflower ears. Still, all the slow-witted, hard-of-hearing Mig dreams of is wearing the crown of Princess Pea. The fourth book returns to the dungeon-bound Despereaux and connects the lives of mouse, rat, girl, and princess in a dramatic denouement.p Children whose hopes and dreams burn secretly within their hearts will relate to this cast of outsiders who desire what is said to be out of their reach and dare to break "never-to-be-broken rules of conduct." Timothy Basil Ering's pencil illustrations are stunning, reflecting DiCamillo's extensive light and darkness imagery as well as the sweet, fragile nature of the tiny mouse hero who lives happily ever after. (Ages 9 and older) I--Karin Snelson/I


Customer Reviews:   Read 383 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars Fabulous   January 6, 2009
My granddaughter was thrilled with this book, and I loved the quality of the package.


2 out of 5 stars In the minority...hated it   January 5, 2009
  1 out of 2 found this review helpful

I will admit that I plan to reread this book. I first read it a couple years ago to see if it was something my kids would enjoy as a read-aloud book. It had received rave reviews so I was looking forward to it. I hated it and almost didn't finish it but did so because I kept holding out hope it would improve. It was truly dark (think WWII writings) and morbid and I found very little uplifting, humorous,etc. I read a bit to my one daughter (the most serious who has patience with most books) and she even lost interest quickly. Now I see they have made a movie of it and I was shocked! I thought what a depressing film. But I know everyone now seems to love it so I'll give it another shot and re-read it. But I guess I'd warn people to read a chapter online or in library before buying it, just to see if its what you expect in tone and style.


1 out of 5 stars If I could use a ) star I would   December 30, 2008
  3 out of 6 found this review helpful

This is a horrible story: abuse, powerless/stupid/fat/beaten up young girl. What else could happen to this young girl. I read this story to my girls, the first few chapter and decided to go further on my own just to make sure the story would take a "lighter" turn.br /br /It didn't it went from ok to worse. No wonderful role model here for young girls.br /br /Very sad and disturbing story.br /


3 out of 5 stars A Lovely Little Book   December 29, 2008
  0 out of 1 found this review helpful

This was a great read-aloud book (we actually started listening to the audio version together in the car, but had to return it to the library). I would highly recommend the audio version - the narration was beautiful. So, we finished it together (my son and I) last night. I'm not sure he thought much of it, but it was a lovely little book. Not as much plot, or excitement, as I think he was expecting, but fun nevertheless. We're looking forward to seeing the movie this holiday!br /


1 out of 5 stars Don't take a child to the movie!   December 27, 2008
  2 out of 9 found this review helpful

The book is OK, and the movie is OK (not great) but there is a trailer for a film called Coraline about a girl who is asked to sew buttons on her eyes, it is a dark horror tale and my kids are having nightmares. Despereaux is G, there is no wa Coraline can get a G. Either go late, or make sure your kids don't see the Coraline preview - if they do you will regret it.


Powered by Associate-O-Matic