Recommended Age:
9
+
Best for independent readers who enjoy lyrical, emotionally layered fantasy with themes of bravery, forgiveness, and the redemptive power of love.
About the Book
In a fairy-tale kingdom, a small mouse named Despereaux falls in love with a human princess and light, setting him on a dangerous quest that intertwines with the stories of a resentful rat named Roscuro and a slow-witted servant girl named Miggery Sow. A Newbery Medal winner that is part fairy tale, part fable, and entirely enchanting. Beautifully constructed and full of heart.
Content Ratings
💡
Mild Themes
The novel explores themes of otherness, cruelty, forgiveness, and the redemptive power of love; the backstories of Roscuro and Miggery Sow involve abuse and trauma that are handled within a fairy-tale frame.
⚔️
Mild Violence
A mouse is killed and fed to rats; a character is slapped and mistreated; the threat of being eaten by rats is sustained; violence is fairy-tale in tone but has genuine stakes.
Engagement:
Genre:
Fantasy
Published:
2003
Page Count:
272
