Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. The Princess of Dor and the fifth child of the king and queen, Pea is a sharp-eyed and beautiful girl whom Despereaux grows to honour and love upon their first meeting and she also comes to adore the mouse. Though kind-hearted and loved by the people of the castle, Pea is often overcome with loneliness after her mother’s death. Because of her title as a princess, Pea is not used to being told what to do and sometimes takes slight offense when someone does not appreciate her for her title. However, when her past actions cause her kidnapping, Pea comes to use her forgiveness, good nature, and place as royalty for the good of the other characters.
The lonely character of the story, Despereaux was born as a castle mouse and the only living mouse of his mother’s latest litter. Named for the despairs and sadness of that time, Despereaux is an oddball among the mouse community from birth, as he is born with a small body, giant ears, and open eyes. He grows up to be very different from the other mice, choosing to read books instead of eating them, and not learning to scurry like other mice. He becomes fascinated by a fairy tale about a beautiful princess and an armored knight and learns from ideas like chivalry and courage from it, which his fearful elders dismiss as absurd. Through his large ears, Despereaux is able to listen to the music that the king plays for his daughter Princess Pea, and because of this, he is able to meet and fall in love with the human princess. This behaviour, however, does not go undetected by the mice, and when he is sent to the dungeon Despereaux must rely on his wits, bravery, and inner strength in order to save himself and the princess.
In 2007 the U.S. National Education Association listed the book as one of its “Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children”, based on an online poll. Teachers also made it a summer reading project. In 2012 it was ranked number 51 among all-time children’s novels in a survey published by School Library Journal – the second of three books by DiCamillo in the Top 100.
Picture Credit : Google
