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Title: Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread (Newbery Medal Book) by Kate Dicamillo, Timothy B. Ering ISBN: 0-7636-1722-9 Publisher: Candlewick Press Pub. Date: September, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.46 (26 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: I wish I liked it... I do, I do!
Comment: A better idea in its conception than its execution. I enjoy stories where animals speak, and this one began with great promise. The initial tale of the mouse Despereaux is good, and it leads nicely into the story of the rat Roscuro. Unfortunately, once the book hits the story of the servant girl Miggery Sow, it looses itself. The Miggery Sow plotline is rather horrendous in the face of the others. In it, a girl's mother dies, her father trades her to a man that beats her soundly day in and out, and as a result she's nearly deaf. Once she arrives at the castle she becomes fat and beaten even more by her fellow servants. This would be all well and good if it was done with any sympathy at all. It is not. The girl is stupid and scenes of her beatings are told with a disturbingly jovial tone about the, "clouts" about the ears. There is no sympathy for the working poor in this book. The only sympathetic lower class character, the jailor Gregor, is ceremoniously killed off without so much as a final scene. The cook is suddenly supposed to become a likable character when she serves soup to Despereaux, the author hoping the reader will forget that not 100 pages ago she was last seen beating a 12 year-old girl. The princess, who has grown up rich and beautiful, has no flaws. Her father is stupid, but not evil. In the end, this story has attempted to be about dreams and how they don't always come true. This is all well and good, but it feels patched together. It is almost as if the author didn't know where she was going with the plot as she wrote. For a much better story of a young mouse learning about courage, see "Redwall" by Brian Jacques or Avi's "Poppy". All this isn't to say I don't wish I loved it more. I do! But somehow I just couldn't love it as everyone else did.
Rating: 5
Summary: Heartwrenching beautiful story
Comment: Read this!! Really, that's all I want to say to everyone when I tell them about this book. Desperaux, the tiny mouse with the big ears, broke my heart with his love, determination and courage. The twists and turns of the book are magical, lyrical and wonderful to discover. Every character is wonderfully written. Dicamillo's addressing of the reader, makes them feel as part of the story. All I wanted to do was find a group of children and read them this story, in the hushed, secretive tones it conveys. I will be reading this book over and over, to myself, my students and eventually my children. Most definitely deserving of the Newberry Award, and a classic for all time!
Rating: 5
Summary: Stunningly wonderful for all ages...
Comment: My twelve-year old daughter and I listened to the unabridged tape on a recent road trip...once it started, we didn't want to turn the car off! It was poetically written, read beautifully and powerfully, and we would recommend it to just about anyone. We just passed it on to "Poppy," knowing he will enjoy this wonderful tale. It was recommended in "Publisher's Weekly," and we've now ordered the other books that were recommended along with it. Enjoy!
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Title: The Man Who Walked Between The Towers by Mordicai Gerstein ISBN: 0761317910 Publisher: Millbrook Press Pub. Date: 18 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, Anthea Bell ISBN: 0439531640 Publisher: Chicken House Pub. Date: October, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes ISBN: 0060535431 Publisher: Greenwillow Pub. Date: 12 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.99 |
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Title: Eragon (Inheritance, Book 1) by Christopher Paolini ISBN: 0375826688 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 26 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech ISBN: 0060292903 Publisher: Joanna Cotler Pub. Date: 29 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.99 |
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