num_pages: 272
description: A brave mouse, a covetous rat, a wishful serving girl, and a princess named Pea come together in Kate DiCamillo's Newbery Medal–winning tale.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. What happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out.
language: English
title: The Tale of Despereaux
titlecomplete: The Tale of Despereaux
characters: Chiaroscuro, Princess Pea, Despereaux Tilling, Miggery Sow
genres: Middle Grade, Chapter Books, Animals, Childrens, Juvenile, Young Adult, Fantasy, Classics, Adventure, Fiction
ratings_count: 193421
awards: awardedAt: 1072944000000
name: Newbery Medal, awardedAt: 1072944000000
name: Mythopoeic Fantasy Award
category: Children's Literature, awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Kentucky Bluegrass Award
category: 3-5, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Garden State Book Award, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Land of Enchantment Book Award
category: Young Adult, awardedAt: 1167638400000
name: Massachusetts Children's Book Award, awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Blue Hen Book Award
category: Chapter Book, awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Maine Student Book Award, awardedAt: 1041408000000
name: Mitten Award
category: Honor Book, awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Vermont Golden Dome Book Award, awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Golden Archer Award
category: Intermediate, awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Indian Paintbrush Book Award, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award
category: Junior, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award, awardedAt: 1104566400000
name: Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
category: Kinderbuch, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: New Mexico Land of Enchantment Award
category: Young Adult, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Oklahoma Sequoyah Award
category: Children's, awardedAt: 1136102400000
name: Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award
publisher: Candlewick Press