The Tale of Despereaux

by: DiCamillo, Kate.

Ill: Ering, Timothy B. ill.

Newberry Honor book

The adventures of Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin.

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Candlewick (April 11, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0763625299
ISBN-13: 978-0763625290

A few topics discussed in this book are some what difficult for younger children to understand, or may find scary. These darker things would include, a child sold into servitude, child abuse, hate and revenge. Even at age 9, I think it should be a supervised read so that a parent can explain what is happening.

The Llama boys did enjoy this book as a read aloud, and I can easily see them picking it up later on their own for another read.

Movie review: Um, the title and a few of the characters share the same name, but the plot has very little to do with what is in the book. I was disappointed in the movie from that respect. Although, I would have found it very difficult to tackle some of the subject matter on the screen. I think that the movie lacked the over arching symbolism that permeated this books so well, and I feel that that is a real loss for the audience in the theater. The movie as a stand alone is fine, cute, and in some parts quite humorous. The boys thought that the movie was a completely different story line... a part 2 or something until we explained that it was supposed to be the same story.