Title: The Tale of Despereaux
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: Timothy Basil Ering
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Year of Publication: 2003
Genre: Fantasy
Horn Book or Kirkus Reviews rating: Horn Book gave this book a 2 rating.
Summary: This is the story of a daring mouse named Despereaux, a devious rat named Roscuro, and a servant girl named Miggery and the journey all three embark on.
Summary of Professional Reviews: Horn Book says, "Framing the book with the conventions of a Victorian novel, DiCamillo tells an engaging tale."
Review by Alexis: This novel would be a very interesting read for any reader. The novel is separated into four stories: the first one is about Despereaux, the second one is about Roscuro, the third story is about Miggery, and the last story is what happens when the characters' stories finally coincide. For many, having many different stories can be confusing, DiCamillo addresses that by involving a narrator. The way the narrator narrates the story (by talking directly to the reader), keeps the reader involved and helps them to keep up with all of the action in the story. Throughout the story, there are illustrations with a line from that section of the novel. The illustrations help the reader to pick up on important aspects of the story. For example, there is an illustration to reinforce the idea that when Despereaux was born, his eyes should not have been open. The illustrations are in black and white, and, in some of the illustrations, the finer details are difficult to see.
This book would be useful when teaching… This book would be useful to use during a third or fourth grade unit on fantasy stories. The students could read the book and engage in a literature circle experience for each section. As one of the literature circle roles, a student could be asked to point out where each of the elements of fantasy appear in the section.
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: Timothy Basil Ering
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Year of Publication: 2003
Genre: Fantasy
Horn Book or Kirkus Reviews rating: Horn Book gave this book a 2 rating.
Summary: This is the story of a daring mouse named Despereaux, a devious rat named Roscuro, and a servant girl named Miggery and the journey all three embark on.
Summary of Professional Reviews: Horn Book says, "Framing the book with the conventions of a Victorian novel, DiCamillo tells an engaging tale."
Review by Alexis: This novel would be a very interesting read for any reader. The novel is separated into four stories: the first one is about Despereaux, the second one is about Roscuro, the third story is about Miggery, and the last story is what happens when the characters' stories finally coincide. For many, having many different stories can be confusing, DiCamillo addresses that by involving a narrator. The way the narrator narrates the story (by talking directly to the reader), keeps the reader involved and helps them to keep up with all of the action in the story. Throughout the story, there are illustrations with a line from that section of the novel. The illustrations help the reader to pick up on important aspects of the story. For example, there is an illustration to reinforce the idea that when Despereaux was born, his eyes should not have been open. The illustrations are in black and white, and, in some of the illustrations, the finer details are difficult to see.
This book would be useful when teaching… This book would be useful to use during a third or fourth grade unit on fantasy stories. The students could read the book and engage in a literature circle experience for each section. As one of the literature circle roles, a student could be asked to point out where each of the elements of fantasy appear in the section.