The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

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One tiny mouse, the only surviving baby in his litter. One tiny mouse is touched by the light. One tiny mouse seeks the light through beauty, music, truth, courage, and love. Despereaux.

One beautiful princess with a heart full of light. The Princess Pea

One wretched rat, born in a dungeon. One wretched rat who sees the light, wants the light, goes toward the light, only to find darkness. Chiaroscuro

One small girl, traded for trinkets, abused, degraded, trapped in darkness. Miggory Sow.

Four stories whose threads become woven together with dark and light....The Tale of Despereaux. A new classic spreading light.

Research Links for The Tale of Despereaux

Kate DiCamillo's Biography

Author's Biography

Teacher's Guide from Candlewick

Reader's Guide

Deer Mice and White-Footed Mice

Research: MICE (Peromyscus leucopus) and
Sevilleta Data

Watercress Soup Recipe

Research: RATS

Shenandoah Music

Literary Connections:

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIHM by Robert O'Brien
Cyberguide

Christopher Mouse: The Tale of a Small Traveler by William Wise

Kids Wings 5-Star Rating:

(Symbolizing high moral character in literature)

Just for Fun

A mother mouse and a baby mouse are walking along, when all of a sudden, a cat attacks them. The mother mouse yells, "BARK!" and the cat runs away.

"See?" says the mother mouse to her baby. "Now do you see why it's important to learn a foreign language?"

Special thanks for background music: The Vineyard Harvest
Original Symphonic Composition by Edgar Girtain

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