Ilene Cooper (Booklist, Jul. 1, 2003 (Vol. 99, No. 21))
Forgiveness, light, love, and soup. These essential ingredients combine into a tale that is as soul stirring as it is delicious. Despereaux, a tiny mouse with huge ears, is the bane of his family's existence. He has fallen in love with the young princess who lives in the castle where he resides and, having read of knights and their ladies, vows to "honor her." But his unmouselike behavior gets him banished to the dungeon, where a swarm of rats kill whoever falls into their clutches. Another story strand revolves around Miggery, traded into service by her father, who got a tablecloth in return. Mig's desire to be a princess, a rat's yen for soup (a food banished from the kingdom after a rat fell in a bowl and killed the queen), and Despereaux's quest to save his princess after she is kidnapped climax in a classic fairy tale, rich and satisfying. Part of the charm comes from DiCamillo's deceptively simple style and short chapters in which the author addresses the reader: "Do you think rats do not have hearts? Wrong. All living things have a heart." And as with the best stories, there are important messages tucked in here and there, so subtly that children who are carried away by the words won't realize they have been uplifted until much later. Ering's soft pencil illustrations reflect the story's charm. Category: Books for Middle Readers--Fiction. 2003, Candlewick, $17.99. Gr. 3-6. Starred Review

Susie Wilde (Children's Literature)
In 2000 Kate DiCamillo got the Newbery Honor award for Because of Winn-Dixie (Candlewick, $5.99, ages 9-12), the story of a lonely young girl who finds sense of community because of a dog who discovers her. This year DiCamillo captured the Newbery itself with the help of an extraordinary character, Despereaux, the winning hero of The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread. He's a tiny mouse with a huge heart who loves a princess and would do anything for her. But he's not the only unique character, the book is divided between other remarkable personalities and their engaging stories. There's Roscuro, a dungeon-born rat who seeks light, Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who only wants to be listened to, and the Princess herself, who still grieves for her mother. Each character's desires, hopes and fears combine in this marvelous questing fantasy. This is a tale made for reading aloud and family enjoyment. If reading aloud is not your forte, there's a wonderful recording by Graeme Malcolm (Listening Library, $25.00, unabridged, 3 cassettes). 2003, Candlewick, $17.99. Ages 8 to 12.

Mary Quattlebaum (Children's Literature)
Chill winds call for hot cocoa and a good book. Kate DiCamillo's The Tale of Despereaux serves up 52 chapters bursting with adventure. A noble mouse, villainous rat, light-filled princess, homely serving girl and ineffective king come together in a tale of love and redemption laced with humor. Despereaux, a big-eared mouse, struggles to thwart the rat's plan to plunge the princess forever into a dark dungeon. Meanwhile, the serving girl struggles to become a princess, the rat longs for light and beauty and the king makes one silly law after another. Softly shaded pencil drawings by Timothy Basil Ering beautifully detail this strange, shadowy world and are a just-right accompaniment to this nuanced book. 2003, Candlewick, $17.99. Ages 8 to 12.

Karen Leggett (Children's Literature)
The young son of a friend asked if Kate DiCamillo would write a story about an unlikely hero with exceptionally large ears. The Tale of Despereaux is her answer, with all the surprises and warm feeling--and unlikely heroes--that we are coming to expect from DiCamillo. Despereaux is a mouse with exceptionally large ears even for a mouse. He was born with his eyes open. He can read. And he has fallen in love with a Princess. All of which makes him different enough to get thrown into the dungeon. It is a dungeon filled with rats and other dark horrors that make for quite an unpleasant chapter. Illustrator Timothy Ering captures the horrors (and the joys) in shades of pencil gray--a perfect art lesson by itself in how much detail and emotion can be captured with nothing more than a carefully manipulated pencil. The narrator frequently addresses the reader directly to make sure the reader is paying attention to a forthcoming or just-mentioned detail, but it is always in a friendly manner, like a grown-up putting an arm around the shoulders of a younger person. "Reader, do you know what 'perfidy' means? I have a feeling you do, based on the little scene that has just unfolded here. But you should look up the word in your dictionary, just to be sure." Obviously, a perfect opportunity to teach that lesson about figuring out words by their context. The book is full of whimsy and suspense and would be a perfect choice to read aloud to older students. 2003, Candlewick Press, $17.99. Ages 10 up.

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, 2004)
This funny, original story brings four different strands into a narrative whole, with well-developed fairytale characters. There's Despereaux, the heroic young mouse who would rather read books than gnaw them; Chiaroscuro, a rat living in a dark dungeon, who aspires to a life filled with light; Miggery Sow, a serving girl who longs to be a princess; and, of course, the princess herself, who looks and acts just like the princesses in Despereaux's beloved book of fairytales. The ways in which all these characters' lives intersect is the basis for a multilayered story that deftly draws on multiple literary traditions. The absurd idealism and romantic chivalry of Despereaux, for example, suggest that he may be a direct descendant of Don Quixote. DiCamillo's use of the intrusive narrator who directly addresses the reader harkens back to Henry Fielding's Tom Jones. The story is at once sophisticated and wholly accessible to children, particularly as a read-aloud. Beautiful book design and numerous black-and-white line drawings add to the old-fashioned feel of the satisfying story. Honor Book, CCBC Newbery Award Discussion CCBC categories: Fiction for Children. 2003, Candlewick Press, 267 pages, $17.99. Ages 7-11.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2003 (Vol. 71, No. 14))
Dear reader, light your lamp and listen to the tale of Despereaux, the last mouse born of Antoinette. Born with his eyes open and ears much too large, Despereaux seems destined for early death. A true Renaissance mouse, he can hear honey, read words, and appreciate fine music. But he cannot conform to the strictures of the mouse world. Rodents and humans don't mix, yet he falls in love with the Princess Pea, earning the wrath of all the mice in the castle. The melodramatic voice of the narrator glides through DiCamillo's entirely pleasing tale, at times addressing the reader directly, at others, moving the reader back and forward in time. Never does she abandon the reader in the dungeon with Despereaux, the dark-hearted rats, or the guard and fellow inmate, Gregory. And so unwinds a tale with twists and turns, full of forbidden soup and ladles, rats lusting for mouse blood, a servant who wishes to be a princess, a knight in shining-or, at least, furry-armor, and all the ingredients of an old-fashioned drama. 2003, Candlewick, $17.99. Category: Fiction. Ages 7 to 12. Starred Review. © 2003 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Janice M. Del Negro (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, November 2003 (Vol. 57, No. 3))
The young mouse Despereaux Tilling simply does not fit in (he can read, and he has an innate appreciation for music), either with his family or his community, and, as the author states, “you must know that an interesting fate (sometimes involving rats, sometimes not) awaits almost everyone, mouse or man, who does not conform.” When Despereaux makes the unforgivable mistake of speaking to a human, the Princess Pea, he loses both his heart and his place in the mouse community, and the adventure is off. On its way, the novel tells the story not only of Despereaux, the chivalric mouse who risks all for his ladylove, but also Chiaroscuro (a.k.a. Roscuro), the outlawed rat who craves the light, and Miggery Sow, the servant girl who squanders hope on an impossible wish. DiCamillo speaks directly to the reader throughout this deliberately though gently mannered book, and she states the point of her lessons clearly. There’s an intimacy to the authorial tone that makes the artfully crafted prose and precisely contrived exposition accessible as well as gratifying. Ering’s full-page pencil drawings contribute to the romantic feel, the meticulous drafting softened by the dusty, almost pastel-like treatment of dark and light; the physical design of the book hearkens back to leather-bound volumes with gold imprints and other detailing. There is a classic charm to this picaresque tale of an idealistic mouse suffering unrequited love for a princess; that and a pace that lends itself to reading aloud will make this novel a favorite among those ready for some gentle questing. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2003, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2003, Candlewick, 272p, $17.99. Grades 3-5.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2004)
Despereaux Tilling is not like the other mice in the castle. He’s smaller than average, likes to read books, and is in love with a human being: Princess Pea. When a rat and a young servant kidnap the princess, Despereaux, armed with a needle and a spool of thread, makes a daring rescue. Framing the book with the conventions of a Victorian novel, DiCamillo tells an engaging tale. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2003, Candlewick, 272pp, $17.99. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.

Monica Irwin (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 16, No. 2))
Despereaux is a mouse, the runt in his family. He is the only one in his litter to survive. His family isn't quite sure what to think of him because he is so small and yet has such large ears. Plus, he doesn't always follow the rules--like talking to humans. In fact, when he talks to the princess, he is sent to the dungeon where it is expected that the rats will eat him. But he escapes by being nice to the jailer and using his extraordinary wits. Then he is actually able to save the princess from an evil rat and a jealous girl. This is a classic fairy tale. It is unique. In the book, the reader is "invited" into the story by the narrator. "Dear reader," the narrator says to explain something. The reader is reminded of the fairy tales of his/her youth. Despereaux is a thoroughly likable character, and the illustrations only add to his charm. Each character plays an integral part in this action-filled, "happily-ever-after" tale. Fiction, Highly Recommended. Grades 4 and up. 2003, Candlewick, 267p., $17.99. Ages 9 up.

Timothy Capehart (VOYA, October 2003 (Vol. 26, No. 4))
Despereaux is the smallest mouse in the castle, with the largest ears and the most romantic heart. He falls in love with the human Princess Pea and is banished to the dungeon by his fellow mice. Meanwhile, the rat Chiaroscuro falls in love with light. When he leaves the dungeon to pursue his love, he frightens the queen to death and ends up back where he started with a healthy grudge against Princess Pea. Out in the town, a girl the same age as the princess, named Miggery Sow, is sold into slavery by her father. She takes many nasty beatings but dreams of being a princess herself one day. All three stories entwine in the final part of the book in a satisfying and not surprisingly happy ending for nearly everyone. At times, DiCamillo's new fantasy novel is charming, by turns sad, sweet, and mildly scary. At other times, though, the conceit of the narrator addressing the reader directly wears thin. The characters are all well limned, although the princess is, perhaps, too perfect. The story's twists and intertwinings are all believable, but each character is given their own "book" within the novel, and the pacing is thrown off. First Despereaux's story is told to a point. Then Chiaroscuro's story is told to a point. Then Miggery's story is told to a point. Finally, they all come together. Although this story would make an excellent read aloud for the young, most young adults will likely feel that the narration is condescending. VOYA CODES: 4Q 3P M (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8). 2003, Candlewick, 272p, $17.99. Ages 11 to 14.