" The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" by Kate DiCamillo

Title: The Tale of Despereaux

Author: Kate DiCamillo

Have I Read it Before: no

I think I just have to accept that I am not a fan of Kate DiCamillo (and by this, I mean her books. I'm sure she is a lovely person). I didn't care for Fiona & Ulysses, nor did I care for The Tale of Despereaux. I get the appeal of this book, but for me it was a little boring. I liked the overall premise; mouse is born under unusual circumstances, befriends a princess, is banished but comes back to save the day. The only thing that I can figure is I just don't care for DiCamillo's writing style.

I first tried to read this book soon after it was announced that it was the recipient of the 2004 Newbery Medal. I only got a few chapters in because it just didn't keep my interest. I was hopeful that reading it this time around would be a different experience, but sadly that was not the case. Overall I don't have much to say about this book other than I didn't enjoy it. I can see it appealing to those that love fairy tales, but are ready for something that is a bit more challenging to read, but I have a feeling it won't be one that I recommend to readers (instead, I'll probably stick with recommending The Sisters Grimm).




Happy Reading!
-Melly

"Flora and Ulysses:The Illuminated Adventures" by Kate DiCamillo, Illustrated by K. G. Campbell

Title: Flora and Ulysses:The Illuminated Adventures
Author: Kate DiCamillo (Illustrated by K. G. Campbell)
Have I Read it Before:No

I feel bad in saying that I wasn't over the moon with Flora and Ulysses:The Illuminated Adventures. It was fun, but I felt that it didn't have much purpose. Flora (a human girl) meets Ulysses (a squirrel) quite by accident when Ulysses is attacked by a vacuum cleaner. This ends up being a blessing in disguise as Ulysses then obtains what are essentially super powers. The two end up teaming on a quest to keep Flora's mother from disposing of Ulysses.

Overall, I liked enough of the elements in this book to call it a pleasing read, but it's not a book that I will plan on reading again. The characters were very interesting, but there just wasn't enough going on with the plot to keep me entertained. I feel that overall plot jumped around a little too much and even though we are rooting for Ulysses, it seemed like the story would derail at times before getting back to the original plot.

Though this book clearly wasn't for me, I think it will appeal to many children. Flora is an interesting enough character and I can see kids relating to her as she solves problems based on what she read in the comic Terrible Things Can Happen to You! (see, reading comics isn't necessarily a bad thing). I also think that kids will get a kick out of
William Spiver, a boy who claims to be blind and who shows up at the best and yet worst moments (he was easily my favorite character, so I was very pleased whenever he made an appearance). Though I am a little surprised that this book won this year's Newbery award as I feel that there were some much stronger contenders, I am still planning to read more of DiCallio's work, but probably wouldn't pick up a sequel to this book, if one comes about (but I'm still looking forward to reading The Tale of Despereaux this year).

Happy Reading!

-Melly