The world is dark and light is precious. Come closer, dear reader. I am telling you a story.

I considered this book by Kate DiCamillo for the last series, but I opted for Anne of Green Gables primarily because I wanted a series I could post only once a week (and active readers of this blog may have noticed I struggled to even keep that up at times). As this book consists of very short chapters, I will be returning to a T/R schedule.

I love this book partly for the personable narrator and occasions of simple beauty, but mostly for its empathy. I think this was my first introduction to the concept that a villain could be more than just a “bad guy”, and the perspective shifts taught me how society can shape people for better or for worse.

The Tale of Despereaux: being the story of a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread is just a delightful little tale. There is an animated film adaptation, and while it does present most of the same plot points, it just lacks the soul of the book. The main problem is the changes to Roscuro’s character, presumably because they thought his bittersweet ending in the book was too much of a downer. It’s not bad for a kids’ film, but it hardly improves on the source material, and the animation is merely serviceable. Considering that the chapters are so short anyway, I would recommend reading aloud rather than watching the film.

Until next time…