About this title: Despereaux Tilling the mouse, Roscuro the rat, and a serving girl named Miggery Sow join forces and embark on an adventure during which they encounter grave danger and ultimate triumph. B&w illustrations accompany the text. Named one of the Best Children's Books 2003 by Publishers Weekly. Winner of the 2004 Newbery Medal.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Date Published: 08/2003
ISBN-13:9780763617226ISBN:0763617229
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 272 p. Contains: Illustrations. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Candlewick
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780763625290ISBN:0763625299
Description: Good. A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact (including dustcover, if applicable). The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "from the library of" labels. read more
Description: Acceptable. Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Fair. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Fair. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Very good. Book has appearance of light use with no easily noticeable wear. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Fair. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Fair. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Candlewick
Date Published: 2003-08-25
ISBN-13:9780763617226ISBN:0763617229
Description: Very good. Very minimal damage to the cover (no holes or tears, only minimal scuff marks), in some instances dust jackets are not included, no missing pages, minimal to no highlighting/under. read more
Description: Good. 0763625299 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Candlewick
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780763625290ISBN:0763625299
Description: Good. Standard used condition. May have light reading or storage wear. All orders processed within 2 business days. Ships from Foxboro MA. read more
Description: Fair. 0763625299 Unread book with dj tear, bump or corner crease. This is a new book that received the wear during its handling. Has remainder mark. read more
"Despereaux is a mouse, one of many in the castle, but he is different from the others. He was born with his eyes open (shocking!), his ears are too big (scandalous!) and he likes to read (unheard of!). Worse, he has fallen in love with Princess Pea and has even spoken to her. This is enough to get him banished to the dungeon where the evil rats dwell. This sets in motion a chain of events that will require Despereaux to be as brave as the knights he has read so much about in order to save the lovely Princess Pea. It's a nice enough story. Maybe kind of simple for a sophisticated reader like myself, and those asides to the "gentle reader" are kind of distracting, but it's a pleasant tale. Nice. Did I mention that it's nice? That's what I thought the first time I read the book. Then, I decided to read it to my daughter. Reading it aloud, I suddenly heard rhythms and cadences in DiCamillo's writing that hadn't been evident before. The words rolled off my tongue. They were almost hypnotic. Those asides to the reader felt natural and inviting. And the book was suddenly funny. My eavesdropping husband actually burst out laughing once. My daughter and I (and my husband, too, if he'd admit it) were enchanted. I am repentant. This book is a delight, but one best enjoyed read aloud. Even if you don't have children, try reading it aloud. I promise I won't tell."
"Although told in a slightly condescending fashion (to my mind), the author weaves together the events in the lives of each character most convincingly. Definitely an entertaining read, with an extremely old, yet timeless message: 'This above all, to thine own self be true'."
Yes, I thought this was a good book. That is not to say, I always thought it was a real pleasure to read. I didn't. The darkness of the dungeons and of the stair and of the life of Miggery Sow were not things I wanted to explore, and I didn't often come to this book wanting to delve back in.
I read this book to my kids, and the darkness was really rather dark. I was always surprised the darkness wasn't as dark to them as it was to me. Or, perhaps it was, but they needed to hear it and explore it and take it inside them and mull it over. They wanted to explore it, just like a good fairytale (I mean the real ones, not the Disney versions--the real grim Grimm).
But, I can appreciate all of this anew, because I also just completed listening to Kate Di Camillo's Newberry Medal acceptance speech, in which she shows her appreciation of darkness as a foil to the light, and as a place to work out the horrors of life. There, I find the merit in this work. She is very much a believer in exploring the complex, darkness in children's stories so they can undertsand and come to terms with the treachery,the perfidy in their own lives and souls. She gives an example of such musings from her childhood of her own complicated 4-year old soul, one that anyone can relate to. And, as she explores the darkness, we see how it can show us the light."
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