SAVE $15.17 - The Tale of Despereaux Special Edition: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread $14.82

wow just wow If you love fiction you will love this book. I read it once and now i'm reading it again. the author has out done it... again Rating: 5 (Eileen Delaney, 2010-01-22) Product reviewed: The Tale of Despereaux Special Edition: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread

The Tale of not-so-disappointing Kate's books are always so refreshing, simple and well written. The tale of Despereaux is proof - although my favorite is The Magician's Elephant, this book was a great read. Very insightful with many wise words. Would highly recommend and read again! Rating: 4 (Ruth Ann Williams, 2010-01-19) Product reviewed: The Tale of Despereaux Special Edition: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread

good idea, poorly executed The hardcover version of this book is beautifully put together, with it's mouse-torn pages and wonderful illustrations. Unfortunately, the story did not live up to it's binding. "Despereaux" follows the lives of a handful of characters who, mostly through no choice of their own, live with unfortunate circumstances. Throughout the story, the characters are beaten down even more, mentally and/or physically. It's not until the last few pages that the author attempts to resolve the issues, but at that point the reader has been bombarded with so much negativity that the point of the story is lost, and it's hard to feel any satisfaction from the ending. I can understand what the author was trying to do - the whole light verses dark theme - but I feel it was poorly executed. Perhaps she was trying to relate to too many real-life situations her readers might be going through - illness, physical differences, abuse, abandonment, stereotypes, racism, perfidiousness (the author's favorite), etc - but I trust that young readers can empathize and relate without having each situation explicitly represented. Perhaps she could have cut back a few and achieve the light and dark balance she was trying to attain. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the type of person that wants a candy-coated happy ending in all my stories, in fact I'm a sucker for a good tragedy. I'm not the type of person that thinks we should shield children from the realities of real-life - the unfounded hatred and violence, and unfortunate situations, that occurs. I am, however, a person born with a rare syndrome and have had health challenges my whole life, and also struggled with looking 'different' because of it - I think I know a thing or two about finding light in life. If that is the goal of this story, it fails to capture it. Rating: 1 (Cynde, 2009-12-28) Product reviewed: The Tale of Despereaux Special Edition: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread

Wonderful fairy tale for all ages I have read a number of DiCamillo books and loved most of them. I decided to read this book because my son got the movie and I was interested in reading the book before I saw it. It was a wonderful book! This book tells the tale of three "people". Despereaux, a mouse that is too different to be accepted, whose path leads him to fall in love with a human princess. Despereaux is cast to darkness for his differences. The second person is Chiaroscuro, a rat who yearns for the light but makes his home in the dungeon. Then there is Miggery Sow (Mig), a girl whose leads a miserable life and will do anything to become a princess. All of their fates are intertwined. This was a great story. DiCamillo, as usual, does a wonderful job of making the story come alive. She is just a great story-teller in the most classical sense. All of the characters are interesting and engaging. There are a number of morals reinforced through the story. It is a quick read for an adult, but well worth it. I really didn't find anything to complain about in this book. Unlike "The Elephant's Magician" I think younger children could really get into this story. In fact I started reading it to my three year old son and he didn't want me to stop. I am pretty sure he doesn't understand all the different messages the story is delivering, but he can get into the story of a young mouse fighting for his Princess. I think this is my favorite of all the DiCamillo books that I have read. People of all walks of life and ages should read this book. It is a wonderful story. Rating: 5 (K. Eckert, 2009-12-21) Product reviewed: The Tale of Despereaux Special Edition: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread

Wonderful! This book was excellent! It was full of lessons and individual's character's stories. I would recommend it. It was shipped quickly and it was in great condition. Rating: 5 (K. Brito, 2009-11-30) Product reviewed: The Tale of Despereaux Special Edition: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread