The Tale Of Despereaux

Book Zombie and Care want to know: What made you choose this book now?

The Tale Of Despereaux is the book we're reading for the August 10th BOOKLEAVES meeting. (If you just happen to be in Seoul, you can go with me! Leave a comment.) TOD was suggested by a new member who said it was "the book" when he subbed at a middle school in the United States a couple of years ago.

Book Zombie wants the 6 word review: Plucky little mouse saves the day.

Jennie and Book Chronicle both want to know: Does this book live up to the hype?

It's obvious why teachers, children's librarians and parents have embraced this book. It's a wholesome tale of adventure with a misunderstood, yet noble animal protagonist. There is some darkness, but it's served up in a benign enough fashion along with a few new vocabulary words. Also attractive to these educator types is a narrator who is constantly engaging readers and encouraging them to use those higher level thinking skills to ponder the action. The ending is wrapped up neatly, sweetly and inoffensively with a whiff of a moral. Sometimes I think DiCamillo is guilty of trying too hard to please this adult set.

Melissa and Tiny Little Librarian want to know if I found the book compelling or annoying. And what about that narration?

I'd really love to test-drive The Tale Of Despereaux with someone between the ages of 7 and 12, so I could get some badly needed input. The storyline is charming, if a little awkwardly told, but the narrator constantly talking to the reader gives the book a claustrophobic feel -- it's like someone is right in your face chattering while you're trying to build images in your mind. Also perhaps there was a little too much telling rather than showing. What really annoyed me was that DiCamillo makes such a big production of trotting out a new vocabulary word, then discussing it. She even tells the reader to go look up a word in the dictionary. At that point, the reek of teacher breath was overpowering; I muttered a two-word imperative that you'll never see in a children's book and would have me missing recess for a month. E.B. White knew that you didn't have to attach a bunch of bells and whistles to new vocabulary. Just serve it up like a tennis ball and most of the time, kids will deftly smash it right back over the net at top speed.

Book Chronicle wants to know: Where do you think this fits with the history of children's literature?

Since The Tale Of Despereaux won the Newbery, it has been assured a place in children's lit history, and if the movie is well-made and commercially successful, it will solidify the book's good reputation and help it to stay popular for many years.

Tasses asks: Have you seen or read Because Of Winn-Dixie [also by Kate DiCamillo]?

No, but I'm curious about it now. The book, that is. My son told me that the movie blows chunks. (Or some sort of lofty film criticism to that effect.)

Karin asks: With the movie coming out soon, do you think The Tale Of Despereaux will transfer to the big screen while keeping the quality of the story?

Unless the people in charge of the movie version are total morons, there's no reason why this couldn't be a warm and enjoyable family movie. They've actually got an excellent opportunity to improve on the book by trimming down the narration.