The Tale of Despereaux

Bravery, forgiveness, and consequences; these are a few things in which we as parents and teachers like to set out and show our children. In Kate Dicamillo's novel, The Tale of Despereaux, illustrated by Timothy Basil Ering, the reader is treated to a marvelous tale in which an unusual mouse hero is so inspired by tales of knights and chivalry that he sets out on a bold adventure to save the human princess Pea, of whom he so dearly loves. Dicamillo does justice to her characters to not merely portray them as simply good and evil, a concept to frequently assigned to children's literature, but always depicts the good and bad of each character, as well as treating the reader to the events that lead up to each charecter's behaviors and motivations. I would have to say that my favorite attribute to this thrilling novel is how the author takes time to pull the reader aside from the story in order to challenge the reader to consider the plethora of view points, emotions, and goals, in which need to be considered in order to relate to each and every character. The most poignant quote in which to embody the spirit and theme of the story goes,

"I think, reader, that she was feeling the same thing that Despereaux had felt
when he was faced with his father begging him for forgiveness. That is, Pea was
aware suddenly how fragile her heart was, how much darkness was inside it,
fighting always with the light. She did not like the rat. She would never like
the rat, but she knew what she must do to save her own heart."

(Dicamillo, 264) . Forgiveness to save one's own goodness is a point that I believe will strike a note with children and adults alike, helping to instill one of the most important lessons that we as adults strive to teach our own children, forgiveness and empathy. This book is not all morals and lessons, however, The Tale of Despereaux is filled with a Raul Dahl style humor that delights its' readers and sprinkles whimsical illustrations seemingly from another world. Certainly, this is a story in which I as a teacher would read enthusiastically to my own classroom as well as to the kids who dwell in my personal life, for it is filled with adventure, excitement, humor, and all the things that I would want children to learn from having known myself.