The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

The Tale of Despereaux, being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread is the story of an unlikely hero and the meaning of courage, love, and hope. Reader, you will soon meet Despereaux Tilling the smallest mouse you’ve ever seen. He was born with his eyes wide open and the most enormous ears ever bestowed upon a mouse. Despereaux doesn’t scurry about and rather than eat bits of paper, he enjoys reading the beautiful stories written upon them. He has fallen in love with Princess Pea. “Reader, you must know that an interesting fate (sometimes involving rats, sometimes not) awaits almost everyone, mouse or man, who does not conform.” The Mouse Council has decided to sentence Despereaux to a horrible fate in the dungeon, where the rats are awaiting a meal. But dear Reader, if you have been paying attention, the story must not end here for what about the soup and the spool of thread? Prepare yourself for the award winning Tale of Despereaux.