The Tale of Despereaux Movie Tie-In Junior Novelization [Paperback]

Candlewick Press (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 2008 | Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: Tale of Despereaux

This lively junior novelization of the film The Tale of Despereaux tells the story of several unlikely heroes: Despereaux, a brave mouse banished to the dungeon for speaking with a human; Roscuro, a good-hearted rat who loves light and soup, but is exiled to darkness; Pea, a Princess in a gloomy castle who is prisoner to her father's grief; and Mig, a servant girl who longs to be a Princess, but is forced to serve the jailer. An eight-page full-color insert of stills from the movie is included.

Kate DiCamillo's literary classic about Despereaux Tilling has enchanted children and adults around the globe. In this tale of bravery, forgiveness and redemption, one small creature teaches a kingdom that it takes only a little light to show the truth: What you look like doesn't equal what you are. Published in 23 languages, with more than 2 million copies in print, a New York Times #1 bestseller and winner of the Newbery Medal, The Tale of Despereaux is now animated adventure from Universal Pictures.

THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX is a trademark and copyright of Universal Studios. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing LLLP. All Rights Reserved.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; Mti edition (October 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076364076X
• ISBN-13: 978-0763640767
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 7.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #688,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Mice, Hamsters, Guinea Pigs & Squirrels > Nonfiction

More About the Author

Jamie Michalak is a children's book author and editor. Her books include JOE AND SPARKY GET NEW WHEELS and its follow-up, JOE AND SPARKY, SUPERSTARS!, both illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz; LARRY AND RITA illustrated by Jill Newton; and FAIRY TEA PARTY and FAIRY GOODNIGHT KISSES illustrated by Kaori Watanabe.

When not writing or editing, she can often be found playing with her two young boys--marching in parades, walking the plank, or singing (badly) in their band. Jamie was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and grew up in the same neighborhood that Dr. Seuss once lived in. She now resides in Barrington, Rhode Island with her husband and sons. Like Joe Giraffe, she does not have super driving skills.

To read more about Jamie's books, drop by her website at www.jamiemichalak.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Two boys' review: Skip the Movie Tie-in and buy the original!, December 9, 2008

By 

Jared Castle (Roseburg, Oregon United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Tale of Despereaux Movie Tie-In Junior Novelization (Paperback)

WARNING: Some people will reach for this book first as it has the movie version of Despereaux on the cover and features eight pages of full-color movie stills. Before you do, check out this review.

Despereaux, a tiny mouse with an appetite for books and music, aspires to greater things. His passion and cultured nature subsequently leads to his banishment from Mouseworld for being more like a man than a mouse. When the princess is kidnapped, Despereaux takes action, proving what you look like doesn't equal what you are.

My sons, ages 6 and 4, are a bit younger than the target audience (8-to-12-year olds) for The Tale of Despereaux so I went to a bookstore to look over the options. That's where I came across this movie tie-in junior novelization. I also found The Tale of Despereaux Movie Tie-In Storybook and The Tale of Despereaux: The Graphic Novel on the shelves.

I could find no compelling reason to pass over the Newbery Medal-winning book, The Tale of Despereaux for the junior novelization of any other movie tie-in.

This junior novelization and the paperback edition of the original are eligible for Amazon's 4-for-3 promotion (Buy any 4 eligible items and get the lowest-priced item free.) So, again, there's no advantage to choosing the movie tie-in edition over the original.

In summary, skip this junior novelization and the other movie tie-in editions and stick with the original, which is more than accessible for young readers.

BTW: Our introduction to author Kate DiCamillo came by way of her Christmas picture book, Great Joy, which I also highly recommend and gave a 5-star review here on Amazon.

1.0 out of 5 stars The ruining of a classic, October 15, 2009

By 

FifthGradeTeacher (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tale of Despereaux Movie Tie-In Junior Novelization (Paperback)

Kate DiCamillo is one of the greatest children's authors around. Her books are easy to read, but so deep and powerful that their messages are often too complex for young students who can read the words, but not comprehend the meaning. For that reason I can understand the movie company wanting to produce a "junior novelization" to appeal to young children who might go see this terrible movie. On the other hand, I do not understand why Ms. DiCamillo would let her tremendous novel about, light, darkness, friendship, non-conformity and consequences, be supplanted on book shelves by this watered down drivel. When I saw this in our Scholastic Book Fair last year, I groaned thinking they had created a new cover, knowing that the original version with the mouse-gnawed pages was so wonderful. When I started reading and discovered that they had changed the story, not to mention DiCamillo's wonderful way of writing I couldn't have been more disappointed.

I read this to my fifth graders every year. When I tell them that we are going to read it, they complain that they already read it, but they are engrossed by page 10. The real story is better with each re-reading and as you grow older and experience more of life.

Get the real novel: The Tale of the Despereaux and read it over and over again, because it gets better every time. Don't be fooled by this imitator.

7 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars NOT Di Camillo's Novel, November 22, 2008

By 

Winter Maiden (San Diego CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tale of Despereaux Movie Tie-In Junior Novelization (Paperback)

This book is an abomination: a novelization of the movie, created so that kids will not have to experience the horror of discovering that book and movie are often not the same. The actual "Tale of Despereaux" won the Newberry Award and is highly readable. Why has this insult to the intelligence of children been brought out to compete with it? I work in a bookstore, and if I could send back all of our copies of this book, I would.