The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse,... by Kate DiCamillo

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Description

"Forgiveness, light, love, and soup. These essential ingredients combine into a tale that is as soul-stirring as it is delicious." — BOOKLIST (starred review) Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the... read more

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis

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Summary

Once upon a time...

Those are the most beautiful four words I've ever heard put together. Books like these were thought as lunch for the average mouse in the Kingdom of Dor. But not Despereaux. Despereaux Tilling was small, even for a mouse. But he heard and smelled more than any mouse,... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

Cast of Characters

Despereaux: A fraglie, sickly little mouse who hears music, a beautiful thing that no other mouse can. Hears them with his amazingly large ears. "Honey," he calls the music as he is enchanted by the mesmirizing song. He discovers the library in the castly of Dor. His sibling chew on the "suculant" book as Despereaux reads the enchanting story of knighthood, shivalry, and honor. To his family, the world is a large, scary place full of humans that are not to be trusted, and crumbs just waiting to be seeked and sniffed...and eaten. But to Despereaux, the world is beautuful, golden place, with light bleeding throught the stained-glass windows. Everyone thinks he's odd and impossible. But oh, he is filled with realness and bravery he later has to show when he is sent down into the unlighted, sad dungeon. He goes on treachurous adventures, to save the beautiful, sad princess Pea.
Princess Pea: The Princess of Dor and the only child of the king and queen, Pea is a sharp-eyed and beautiful girl whom Despereaux grows to honor and love upon their first meeting as Pea 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.
Miggery: Born in the countryside of Dor, Miggery Sow was an often-mistreated child, since nobody around her cared much for what she wanted. Her mother died and her father then sold her to a man whom she called "uncle", when she was very young. Miggery had to work for the man to whom she was sold for many years with little or no thanks. The man would also give her "clouts to the ear," rendering her to be almost completely deaf. However an accidental meeting on her seventh birthday with the royal family causes Miggery to wish to be a princess. When she turns twelve, she is rescued from slavery by the soldiers of the castle, and she is given the position of serving-maid in the castle itself, befriending Princess Pea, but becoming an unintentional pawn in Roscuro's plan.
Gregory the Jailor: When Despereaux tells Gregory a story he saves himself from being killed by the rats. He wears a long rope that protects him from getting lost in the dungeon's darkness. Chiaroscuro chews on his rope and as a result Gregory burns off his whiskers with a match. Miggery Sow is sent to deliver him his food as a new job. He dies from getting lost in the dungeon's darkness and starving to death after Chiaroscuro chews through his rope completely.
Botticelli Remorso: The antagonist of the story, Botticelli is a very old one-eared rat who lives in the dungeon and is suspicious of Roscuro and his ability. He is the book's part-antagonist, along with Roscuro. Botticelli believes that the meaning of life is suffering, specifically the suffering of others, and that Roscuro should take action, and become a part of the rat community. He had taken a golden heart-shaped locket from a prisoner and hung it on a thin braided rope. Whenever Botticelli spoke, the locket moved. Botticelli is evil, and wishes for the princess to die. Later in the book, he leads Despereaux to the princess in order to kill him later, and intends on feeding the princess to his army of malicious rats.