The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DeCamillo

Despereaux Tilling is a very small mouse with a very large ears and a strong desire for adventure within the Kingdom of Dor. This little mouse stands out in ways that the entire mouse community, even his family, cannot understand. The daily life of mice activities in scurrying, cowering, and munching on books isn't quite what this young mouse yearns for ... and finds his true passion within the pages of a book. Chivalry, honor, and bravery are among the qualities that Despereaux wishes to fulfill - as he vows to "honor" Princess Pea upon their meeting. Due to his inconceivable interests, he is banished to the dungeon with the rats.

As the story of Despereaux unfolds, Miggery Sow, who was once traded by her father, desires to be a real Princess. Roscuro, a rat who comes from a species that feeds of darkness and dread, longs for light and goodness - until, he falls into the Queen's soup and kills her instantly. From ths point, soup is banned from being made in the Kingdom of Dor, which was once a cusinary delight and represents goodness to all. The King, has also lost all hope and spirit as his world begins to crumble. As Roscuro seeks forgiveness from Pea, he is treated as a "typical" rat and turns against the Princess and returns to the darkness. What was once Miggery's wish to become princess, becomes more of a reality as Roscuro tricks her into kidnapping the princess to the dungeon with the rats, with the help of Botticelli Remorsos and his "coaching" in seeking revenge. And what Roscuro thought would make him feel better, ultimately, only made him feel worse and realize that he had to learn to forgive, as well as the Princess Pea had to forgive him for his mother's unexpected passing.

Despereaux, with the valor of a knight, comes to the rescue to his Pea as Miggery Sow reunites with her father, while learning to forgive and love someone in return. Roscuro, the so-called "villian" of this fairy tale learns to see the light and comes out of the darkness, while proving that rats do have a heart, even though they are taught to be deceitful beings.

The Tale of Despereaux is unlike a typical fairy tale, and the hero, is truly unlike any hero who saves the day. The four separate books within the novel, although presented as separate stories, all find a way to feed into one another as Kate DeCamillo introduces each of the characters and their perspectives. Throughout the book, DeCamillo leads the reader into questioning the personalities of each character and how their actions contribute to the page-turning events. While reading, her words and questions to the reader allow you to feel as though you are having a conversation within adventure. With the unpredictable twists and turns in plot, DeCamillo keeps the reader in suspense, with the hope that all involved will find their own version of happily ever after. The Tale of Despereaux teaches us that while there is darkness, there is always a way to reconcile or forgive others if seek it.

After reading this story, I became interested in finding out how author Kate DeCamillo came up with the idea for The Tale of Despereaux, as the fairy tale was unlike the usual "knight in shining armor that defeated the dragon and saved the princess." What gave her the idea to create this protagonist in the story?

Matthew Peterson: What gave you the idea for The Tale of Despereaux?

Kate DiCamillo: It was actually my best friend’s son, who was eight years old at the time and Winn Dixie had just come out and he’s a reader. And so he was kind of impressed with me. And he said that he had an idea for a book about an unlikely hero with exceptionally large ears and I said, “What happens to the hero?” And he said, “I don’t know, that’s why I want you to write the book.” So that’s kind of where I started.

And I think that is why so many are influenced by this story of this unusually small mouse with big, floppy ears - he is truly like any other hero in a typical fairy tale. DeCamillo demonstrated the ability to deviate from the "typical" and transform it into something that is an extraordinary piece of literature that can capture the audience of both children and adults.