The Tale of Despereaux Tilling Review

Bibliography
DiCamillo, K. (2003). The Tale of Despereaux. New York: Scholastic Inc. 270 pp.

Genre and Awards
Fantasy/Friendship
John Newbery Medal

Synopsis
Despereaux Tilling is the smallest mouse with the biggest ears ever to be born in the castle of the Kingdom of Dor. He is also one of the most un-mouse-like of mice to live. When the Princess Pea is kidnapped by the evil rat, Roscuro and the slow-witted servant Miggery Sow, Despereaux must risk life and limb to save her.

Evaluation
DiCamillo's characters are composed well for the creation and purposes of a children's story that addresses some very serious subjects such as child abuse, abandonment, death, and those with exceptions.
Although Despereaux and Roscuro are animals, thier characterization effectively transmits various types of human aesthetic wants and needs. DiCamillo constructs her characters to actively learn right from wrong; love from hate; and jealousy from desire. Despereaux, marked as an outsider in the world of mice because of his unusualness, is content to develop himself to live beyond mundane mouse society. He reads, appreciates beautiful music, and falls in love with the Princess Pea. Because of this, his father sentences him to death. Despereaux's own brother escorts him to the dungeon. DiCamillo stops to talk to her reader about the current situation. She posits questions about the effects this may have on Despereaux's father and brother. She asks the reader to consider her diction and how it supports her characterization. In true fairy tale fashion, Despereaux manages to escape the dungeon, only to go back in to save Pea. To do this, he must confront Roscuro. DiCamillo diffuses the conflict in modern-day terms by making her characters work towards the best, non-violent solution.

Roscuro, the rat is a character who is initially fascinated by the concept and visual of light as opposed to the darkness that usually drowns him in the dungeon. After escaping the dungeon in his youth, he discovers that "rat" is a negative word and through a series of DiCamillo's "coincidences," kills the queen. Through these same events, he also learns to hate the Princess Pea and slinks back to the recesses of the dark dungeon to plan his revenge. His character is initially shaded as misunderstood and lost. When he decides to kidnap and ultimately kill the Princess, Roscuro's soul crosses over into pure hatred. DiCamillo again asks her reader to analyze her character and her plot to effectively convey Roscuro's thoughts, emotions, and the logic of his plan.

Miggery Sow, DiCamillo's metaphorical beast of burden, suffers from neglect, abuse, abandonment, and hearing loss. She shows almost no growth in the unfolding of the story, but in its resolution, she is better understood as a whole by those around her. The Princess, DiCamillo's grounded fairy-tale character displays almost no growth or development as a person. She remains as an idol for the plot and serves as an metaphor for light and happiness.

Classroom Use
I would suggest using this as a read-aloud or for individual reading. The appropriate age range may be 10-13.

Personal Reactions
I absolutely loved this story. Although I found it to be more appropriate for children than young adults, I wondered if it could be used to help push older, struggling readers. DiCamillo's constant references to light and dark and her invasion into the psyche of her characters reminded me of themes prevalent in many Nathaniel Hawthorne stories. This being said, i would not suggest it as a bridge to a classic. I think that the way DiCamillo addresses serious social issues that effect today's children is done in a heart-wrenching way, but without any real-life resolutions. Regardless, I found the coincidences, conflict, and solutions to be acceptable due to its genre and target reader.