6th Grade Entry - Tale of Despereaux

6th graders at WOMS have been invited to post guest entries on my blog for YA books they’ve recently read. This is Celeste’s entry. Thanks, Celeste!

The Tale of Despereaux
Kate DiCamillo
Candlewick Press 272 pages

Once upon a time in the faraway Kingdom of Dor, a whole lot of laughter among the many gallons of soup, a mouse popped out of nowhere. He had a name but, no one knew it. At that same moment in time, a small mouse named Despereaux Tilling was born. The mouse that didn't have a name scared the Queen so bad that she died and the mouse fell into the soup. The day after that, the king made it illegal to have a mouse, make soup, or have pots and pans/silverware. The king hired a fat girl name Mig to be his maid. Mig's Uncle was arrested for hurting her. Her ears were so badly abused that they looked like cauliflower.

Despereaux, on the other hand, got sent to the dungeon since he wasn't like the other mice. He liked to read and listen to music. One day he heard the king playing his guitar, so he followed the music. One of the princesses touched him so he was sent to the dungeon and this is where Despereaux talked to her.

Despereaux loved it when he heard the king playing his guitar. In most of his spare time he would go to the library and read fairy tails. Unlike all of the other mice, he wasn't scared of cats. He wouldn't eat food that other mice would normally eat like paperback books, cheese, and garbage. Despereaux Tilling only ate people food. His favorite food was soup.

I was very happy when Despereaux became more encouraged about getting out of his jail cell to go and save the princess from Mig. The thing I loved most about this book is that Despereaux was so in love with music that he followed it. It's just too bad the king hated mice. Another reason I loved this book so much is because it was hard to put down. I also loved how the author made the sights, smells, and sounds as real as she made the characters.

I definitely recommend this book to people who like to read books that keep them on the edge of their seat with suspense wanting more. This book might look thick and long but, once you get past the first chapter, you'll want to stay up all night reading it. This is the best fantasy book I've read all year.

Submitted by Celeste H.