The Tale of Despereaux: The Graphic Novel
Grade 3–7—This graphic novel is based not on Kate DiCamillo's original novel, but is adapted from the movie script of the recent film. The story of the brave mouse who rescues a princess is told not only through paneled illustrations, but also through an ongoing narration, giving the tale more prose than most graphic novels. The result is that there is less pressure on the pictures to show the emotions of the characters, making the rare moments when they carry the story more powerful. The cartoon-style artwork depicts the movie-concept characters in a straightforward fashion that sometimes seems oversimplified for the sophisticated text. The characters appear softer than their movie counterparts, particularly Princess Pea, whose tears make a particularly lovely set of four panels. Though the story comes through clearly and the pacing is fast and action-oriented, the book feels like the adaptation it is, and seems like it is only scratching the surface of the characters. It will work as a substitute for children who have seen the film and can't wait until it comes out on DVD, and will hopefully inspire many of those same readers to pick up the original tale.—Alana Joli Abbott, James Blackstone Memorial LibraryCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.