The Tale of Despereaux ***1st EDITION ***

Kate DiCamillo

ISBN 10: 0763617229 / ISBN 13: 9780763617226

Published by Candlewick Press, MA, 2003

Description:

First Edition, First Printing with full number line, First State dust jacket with no Mewbery Medal affixed to the front cover and no price on the dust jacket flap and $17.99 price on bar code sticker affixed to back cover. Signed by Kate DiCamillo on the FULL title page. Unread Fine book with lightly bruised spine ends in Fine dust jacket. Winner of the 2004 Newbery Medal. NO remainder mark, NO previous owner markings or inscriptions, NOT a Book Club Edition, NOT an Ex-Lib. Dust jacket covered in Mylar wrapper. All our books are bubble wrapped and shipped in a sturdy box with Delivery Confirmation. Seller Inventory # 011097

About this title:

Synopsis: The beloved author of Because of Winn-Dixie enlightens us with a tale of adventure, despair, love, and soup.

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 story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other’s lives. And what happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out.

From the master storyteller who brought us Because of Winn-Dixie comes another classic, a fairy tale full of quirky, unforgettable characters, featuring twenty-four stunning black-and-white illustrations by Timothy Basil Ering, in an elegant design that pays tribute to the best in classic children’s books and bookmaking traditions.

Review: Kate DiCamillo, author of the Newbery Honor book Because of Winn-Dixie, spins a tidy tale of mice and men where she explores the "powerful, wonderful, and ridiculous" nature of love, hope, and forgiveness. Her old-fashioned, somewhat dark story, narrated "Dear Reader"-style, begins "within the walls of a castle, with the birth of a mouse." Despereaux Tilling, the new baby mouse, is different from all other mice. Sadly, the romantic, unmouselike spirit that leads the unusually tiny, large-eared mouse to the foot of the human king and the beautiful Princess Pea ultimately causes him to be banished by his own father to the foul, rat-filled dungeon.

The first book of four tells Despereaux's sad story, where he falls deeply in love with Princess Pea and meets his cruel fate. The second book introduces another creature who differs from his peers--Chiaroscuro, a rat who instead of loving the darkness of his home in the dungeon, loves the light so much he ends up in the castle& in the queen's soup. The third book describes young Miggery Sow, a girl who has been "clouted" so many times that she has cauliflower ears. Still, all the slow-witted, hard-of-hearing Mig dreams of is wearing the crown of Princess Pea. The fourth book returns to the dungeon-bound Despereaux and connects the lives of mouse, rat, girl, and princess in a dramatic denouement.

Children whose hopes and dreams burn secretly within their hearts will relate to this cast of outsiders who desire what is said to be out of their reach and dare to break "never-to-be-broken rules of conduct." Timothy Basil Ering's pencil illustrations are stunning, reflecting DiCamillo's extensive light and darkness imagery as well as the sweet, fragile nature of the tiny mouse hero who lives happily ever after. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Tale of Despereaux ***1st EDITION ***
Publisher: Candlewick Press, MA
Publication Date: 2003
Binding: Hardcover
Illustrator: Timothy Basil Ering
Condition: Fine
Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
Edition: First Edition