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The Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux is a 2003 children's novel by Kate DiCamillo that won the 2004 Newbery Medal. It tells the story of Despereaux, a mouse who goes against his kingdom's laws by falling in love with a princess. Despereaux is banished from the kingdom. Meanwhile, an evil rat named Roscuro convinces a servant girl to kidnap the princess and bring her to the dungeon. The novel explores themes of parental abandonment and redemption and brings hope to underdogs.

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2K views7 pages

The Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux is a 2003 children's novel by Kate DiCamillo that won the 2004 Newbery Medal. It tells the story of Despereaux, a mouse who goes against his kingdom's laws by falling in love with a princess. Despereaux is banished from the kingdom. Meanwhile, an evil rat named Roscuro convinces a servant girl to kidnap the princess and bring her to the dungeon. The novel explores themes of parental abandonment and redemption and brings hope to underdogs.

Uploaded by

api-298775184
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Tale of Despereaux

By Kate DiCamillo

Background Info
Published in April 11th, 2003
2004 won the Newbery Medal
According to the American Library Association

(ALA), the Newbery Medal is awarded annually "to


the author of the most distinguished contribution
to American literature for children."

Summary
The plot is about Despereaux, a mouse inspired by music

and reading, who went against the laws and


commandments of his kingdom for the love of a beautiful
princess. The mouse is later thrown out of the kingdom. An
evil rat Roscuro is jailed in a dungeon persuades a maid Mig
in the dungeon to kidnap the princess and bring her to the
dungeon so that the princess can stay with him in the
dungeon forever, promising to turn the maid into a princess.
The result is a heroic, surprising heart warmer that brings
families together, gives hope to underdogs everywhere, and
teems with justice.

The Tale of Despereaux


Themes:
Parental abandonment
Redemption

"Every action, reader, no matter how small, has a


consequence."

The Tale of Despereaux


This is the danger of loving: No matter how powerful

you are, no matter how many kingdoms you rule, you


cannot stop those you love from dying.
Fairy tales dont tell you that dragons are real, but

that they can be defeated!


Reader, do you think it is a terrible thing to hope

when there is really no reason to hope at all? Or is it


(as the soldier said about happiness) something that
you might just as well do, since, in the end, it really
makes no difference to anyone but you?

Outside Article
The way in which the protagonists are

portrayed creates a feeling of sympathy and


admiration with the vulnerable children, which
arguably many people find intriguing and
relatable. A common denominator for the
orphan characters is how they often go from
being oppressed outsiders into becoming
triumphant heroes and heroines.

Work Cited
DiCamillo, Kate, and Timothy B. Ering. The

Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a


Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of
Thread. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 2003.
Print.
Kennedy, Elizabeth. "An Unusual Fairy Tale."
About.com Children's Books. N.p., 05 Apr.
2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Friis, Cecilia. "Abandoned Children in
Literature: The Orphans in J.K. Rowlings."
Humanities and Theology. Birgitta Berglund,
2013. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

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