The Tale Of Despereaux: Being The Story Of A Mouse, A Princess, Some Soup, And A Spool Of Thread by Kate DiCamillo
I had thought this was a middle-grade book, but it reads as being suitable for an even younger audience. I could see reading this to a six-year-old, if you happened to have a young child or niece or nephew who was good at holding still.
It has black and white pictures that look like they’re illustrated in pencil, with slightly exaggerated features. The mice have large ears and tiny eyes, the rats have thin snouts and jagged teeth.
The tale itself is very simple, a fairy-tale kind of story with a beautiful princess and a wicked rat and a brave little mouse.
My daughter loved this book when she was little, said it was her favorite book. I generally like children’s books (though I prefer middle-grade or YA) and I can see why she liked it, but there were a couple of things that bothered me about it. I was bothered by Mig, who is deaf (fine) but who is also ugly and stupid, and then becomes fat. It bothered me because I don’t like the obvious natural transition between dead=stupid and stupid=fat. I know, I’m overthinking it, but it bothered me. It also bothered me that the mouse fell in love with the beautiful princess. It shouldn’t bother me at all, but it did. Why? Not sure. Because mice don’t usually love humans? Maybe, but I think that the real reason was that it was a princess is only there to be desired/loved and that a princess must be beautiful.
But, it’s a cute little story and it has pictures. If your niece or nephew or patient child is willing to sit while you read them a story, this might be a good one to choose from because even a small child will recognize the tropes. Light=good, rats=bad, princess=beautiful.
