The Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Copyright 2003
Published by Scholastic Inc.
Lexile Measure: 670L
Grade Level: 4-5

Forgiveness, Light, Love, Soup

The Tale of Despereaux ("being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread") is the tale of a brave little mouse out to save the princess from a horrible rat foe, Roscuro.  Despereaux sacrifices the reputation of his family and his own safety to complete his destiny and come to the rescue of his true love, like a true knight would. This adventure novel will be sure to hold the attention of all of your students for a read-aloud!

Teachers, here are some suggestions for activities and resources that go along with this novel:

Key Vocabulary:

• adieu, chiaroscuro, empathy, furlough, perfidy, portentous, remorse

Before Reading Activity:

• Students can research medieval themes such as chivalry, knights, princesses, castles, and dungeons because many of these topics are seen throughout the reading.

During Reading Activity:

• Students can create character maps for each section of the novel.  Then at the end they can compare and contrast the characters Despereaux, Chiaroscuro, and Miggery Sow.

After Reading Activity:

• When students are finished reading the novel have them watch the movie of The Tale of Despereaux and compare and contrast what they have read to what they see.

Web Resources:

• Here are some discussion questions for students to ponder while reading the novel.
• Here is a 20 page, field tested teacher's guide with teaching strategies from each section of the book!

"The world is dark,

and light is precious.

Come closer, dear reader.

You must trust me.

I am telling you a story."

DiCamillo, K., & Ering, T. B. (2003). The tale of Despereaux: being the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread. Cambridge : Candlewick Press.