1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
DiCamillo, Kate. 2003. THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX. Ill. by Timothy Basil Ering. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 0763617229
2. PLOT SUMMARY
The adventures of Despereaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Besides making the reader hungry for soup, this book left me feeling a little empty. Ms. DiCamillo tries telling three stories that are intertwined but fail to let the reader understand any story completely. Despereaux Tilling is a brave mouse determined to conquer his obstacles and ignores the traditional mouse way of doing things. Independent thinkers will cheer for Despereaux when he challenges the mouse status quo by talking to humans and even falling in love with one. The book takes a heartbreaking turn when Despereaux’s own family leads him to his supposed desmise in the dungeon. Young readers might take this darkness too seriously.
DiCamillo’s writing of specific characters left readers feeling unsatisfied. For example, Miggery Sow, the servant maid really made the book fall apart. Readers can’t tell whether they should like Miggery or hate her. She makes stupid decisions that seem contrived and hokey. Even young readers will feel frustrated by her actions.
The author’s writing style of addressing the reader in some places was choppy and disjointed. These asides were probably meant to add humor to the story but did not seem to do the job.
Mr. Basil’s pencil illustrations do an adequate job of depicting scenes from the story. They are not especially compelling and do not persuade a reader to pick up the book. The back cover does have an especially gloomy picture of the tunnel to the dungeon.
The conclusion that these characters can bond over soup seemed the most ridiculous. If someone wanted to kill someone, soup probably wouldn’t solve the problems. It felt like Ms. DiCamillo needed to wrap everything up quickly and this was the easiest way to do it. Overall, Ms. DiCamillo has much stronger literature like BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE and EDWARD TULANE.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Winner of the 2004 Newbery Award
2. PLOT SUMMARY
The adventures of Despereaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Besides making the reader hungry for soup, this book left me feeling a little empty. Ms. DiCamillo tries telling three stories that are intertwined but fail to let the reader understand any story completely. Despereaux Tilling is a brave mouse determined to conquer his obstacles and ignores the traditional mouse way of doing things. Independent thinkers will cheer for Despereaux when he challenges the mouse status quo by talking to humans and even falling in love with one. The book takes a heartbreaking turn when Despereaux’s own family leads him to his supposed desmise in the dungeon. Young readers might take this darkness too seriously.
DiCamillo’s writing of specific characters left readers feeling unsatisfied. For example, Miggery Sow, the servant maid really made the book fall apart. Readers can’t tell whether they should like Miggery or hate her. She makes stupid decisions that seem contrived and hokey. Even young readers will feel frustrated by her actions.
The author’s writing style of addressing the reader in some places was choppy and disjointed. These asides were probably meant to add humor to the story but did not seem to do the job.
Mr. Basil’s pencil illustrations do an adequate job of depicting scenes from the story. They are not especially compelling and do not persuade a reader to pick up the book. The back cover does have an especially gloomy picture of the tunnel to the dungeon.
The conclusion that these characters can bond over soup seemed the most ridiculous. If someone wanted to kill someone, soup probably wouldn’t solve the problems. It felt like Ms. DiCamillo needed to wrap everything up quickly and this was the easiest way to do it. Overall, Ms. DiCamillo has much stronger literature like BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE and EDWARD TULANE.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Winner of the 2004 Newbery Award
Starred review in BOOKLIST: ”Forgiveness, light, love, and soup. These essential ingredients combine into a tale that is as soul stirring as it is delicious.”
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “A charming story of unlikely heroes whose destinies entwine to bring about a joyful resolution. This expanded fairy tale is entertaining, heartening, and, above all, great fun.”
5. CONNECTIONS
Discuss the vocabulary in the book, like “perfidy”.
Discuss other foods that are comforting to readers, like soup was to these characters.
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “A charming story of unlikely heroes whose destinies entwine to bring about a joyful resolution. This expanded fairy tale is entertaining, heartening, and, above all, great fun.”
5. CONNECTIONS
Discuss the vocabulary in the book, like “perfidy”.
Discuss other foods that are comforting to readers, like soup was to these characters.
No comments:
Post a Comment