Everyone has their favorite book. For basically everyone, it is probably the Harry Potter series or The Chronicles of Narnia or The Hunger Games. As you may have noticed, I listed books that all have one or more sequels. Well, my favorite book is only one book. One tiny book with a tiny hero and a tiny sword . . . and big ears . . .
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate Dicamillo . . .
As a child, this was my favorite book ever. Full of fun and whimsical characters, author Kate Dicamillo and Illustrator Timothy Basil Ering brings the world of Kings and Queens and Knights and bravery to your very hands. So, why is this my favorite book of all time?
The story begins with the birth of a mouse whose "eyes should not have been open." The only survivor of his brothers and sisters, Despereaux is named by his mother, who immediately after the delivery is fixing her face and applying make-up. Some time passes and our little mouse friend discovers humans. Yes, little mouse friend and family is living in the castle of a King and a Queen and a Princess. Time goes by and a rat appears in a bowl of soup who is served to the Queen. Queen has heart attack. Soup is banned in the kingdom. Everyone hates rats and mice. Despereaux has to save the kingdom. Sounds like a cute story, right? Well . . . it is, however . . . it is dark. It's a kid's book, yes, but boy let me tell you just how dark this book is without giving away too much.
There is death. There is trauma. There is physical abuse. There is slavery. There is terrorism. Like no of course it isn't the most vulgar details in the world, but for a children's book, it's pretty deep. Also, I need to remind myself that times have changed dramatically and although I grew up watching Jaws, Jurassic Park, Twister, Jeepers Creepers, and other classics that are considered "scary" or "suspenseful" for young viewers, many children today watch even worse things like It and Child's Play and Deadpool (THIS FILM IS NOT FOR KIDS, SORRY). This book would probably be boring to such children. And yet, for other kids, this book would be disturbing. It did not disturb me, I actually liked it because I felt like I was mature reading it because I understood the plot and the gravity of the situations and what led to them and why.
The story itself is magical and discusses bravery and acceptance and friendship. I imagine this book sounds familiar to most and, well, that's because it becaME A HORRIBLE MOVIE THAT SHOULD NEVER BE TALKED ABOUT. The movie is soooo not like the book in any way shape or form except for like three things. If you have seen the movie, remove it from your brain. It was definitely made for children and has zero "dark" bits in it. I mean, ok, yeah it is cute for kids, but once you read the book, you will see what I mean. It just can't compete!
If you are a parent who likes having ratings for things, I would rate this book PG. It is dark, but it's real life stuff. It is not gory, it is not detailed, but any strong reader can pick up and grab hints and clues about what is going on. It's a chapter book with beautiful illustrations throughout and it is just such a classic story about friendship and bravery. It has your element of all emotions, your fantasy, your animals, your fiction, your storytelling, your illustrations- it is just a wonderful book. If you are interested, here is a link to get it on Barnes and Noble --->
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