The Tale of Despereaux

Relationships. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo is a sometimes heartwarming story about the relationships of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread (from title page). In each of the four parts of the book, DiCamillo relates the history and story behind one of the relationships—between Despereaux and the family that never quite understands him; between Chiaroscuro the rat and the royal family that live in the castle he also inhabits; and even between the characters and soup. Despereaux falls in love with the Princess Pea and is cast into the dungeon by the mouse council. In the dungeon, fate steps in and he meets Chiaroscuro the rat who has been planning revenge since he was cast into the dungeon for killing the queen. Fate takes the characters on a trip through each of their history and provides a happily-ever-after ending worthy of the Brothers Grimm.

DiCamillo’s book has elements of fairy tales and animal stories, combined into a Newbery Medal-winning story that readers of all ages will enjoy. Throughout the story, the author addresses comments to the reader which I found distracting but not so distracting as to lose the thread of the story. Several plots are developed throughout the book, linked in unusually unpredictable ways to the other plotlines that are woven throughout the story. The pen and ink drawings by Timothy Basil Ering are worthy of any Disney fairy tale and draw the reader into the mood of the story.

Due to the events in the book (death, dungeons and an overall feeling of evil and despair), I would recommend this book for students in grades 4-8

Key words associated with this book: Fairy Tales, mice, rats, Newbery Medal, castle, dungeon, princess

The Princess Academy

Romance, intrigue, danger, princesses and the chance to meeting Prince Charming at a ball—The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale has all the elements guaranteed to make a young girl’s heart go pitter patter. Miri is a small-for-her-age 14-year old girl who has lived on Mount Eskel for her entire life. One day, Lowlanders visit her quarry home to announce that the Prince’s bride will be chosen from the girls of Mount Eskel. All the girls are taken to the Princess Academy, where they learn the true values of education, home, family and friendship.

Shannon Hale, author of The Goose Girl and Enna Burning has written a novel with characters that mirror real life teens. Miri, the main character struggles with self-doubt and life without a mother but still somehow remains true to herself. The touching scenes between Miri and her father illustrate the difficulty that many girls face in trying to establish a cross-gender relationship. Miri and the other princess trainees discover how to stand up to unfair adults and even how to communicate telepathically through their mountain home. The happily-ever-after ending directly appeals to my optimistic self. The book reminded me that if I am true to myself and do the right thing, things will ideally work out well in the end.

I would recommend this book for grades 4-7.

Keywords associated with this book: prince, princess, schools, mountain