The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (5/5 stars)

I have read a number of DiCamillo books and loved most of them.  I decided to read this book because my son got the movie and I was interested in reading the book before I saw it.  It was a wonderful book!

This book tells the tale of three "people".  Despereaux, a mouse that is too different to be accepted, whose path leads him to fall in love with a human princess.   Despereaux is cast to darkness for his differences.  The second person is Chiaroscuro, a rat who yearns for the light but makes his home in the dungeon.  Then there is Miggery Sow (Mig), a girl whose leads a miserable life and will do anything to become a princess.  All of their fates are intertwined.

This was a great story.  DiCamillo, as usual, does a wonderful job of making the story come alive.  She is just a great story-teller in the most classical sense.  All of the characters are interesting and engaging.  There are a number of morals reinforced through the story.  It is a quick read for an adult, but well worth it.  I really didn't find anything to complain about in this book.

Unlike "The Elephant's Magician" I think younger children could really get into this story.  In fact I started reading it to my three year old son and he didn't want me to stop.  I am pretty sure he doesn't understand all the different messages the story is delivering, but he can get into the story of a young mouse fighting for his Princess. 

I think this is my favorite of all the DiCamillo books that I have read.  People of all walks of life and ages should read this book.  It is a wonderful story.

The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo (3.5/5 stars)

This is the third DiCamillo book I have read. I really enjoyed both "The Magician's Elephant" and "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane". I liked this book too, although not as much as the others of hers that I have read.

Rob Horton's mom died and then his dad decided they should move to Florida, where they currently reside in the Kentucky Derby Star Motel. Rob has a perpetual rash on his legs, and is constantly being beat up by the boys at school. His gloomy life changes when two things happen; first he finds a tiger caged in the woods and second he meets a girl called Sistine.

This is more of a novella than an actual full-length novel. It is not as magical or atmospheric as the other two DiCamillo novels I have read. DiCamillo does do a good job capturing how it feels for a young boy to be sad and alone.

The majority of this book deals with children trying to cope with strong emotions. Rob is perpetually sad because of his mom's death and his dad won't let Rob talk about it. Sistine is perpetually angry at the world because of her dad cheating on her mom. Somehow Rob and Sistine strike an odd friendship that focuses around this tiger they find in the woods.

The tiger is more of a symbol than anything in the story. In the end Rob and Sistine both find ways to cope with their emotions through events that happen with the tiger. The book is more of a fable from this aspect.

I love DiCamillo's writing style. This book does a very good job of showing children the right and wrong way to cope with sadness and anger. It would be a good story for younger children. Not my favorite of DiCamillo's though. I would definitely check out one of her other novels if you are a first time DiCamillo reader.

The Elephant's Magician by Kate DiCamillo (5/5 stars)

I have read DiCamillo's story "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" previously and really liked it. When I saw she had written another book I was really excited to read it. This is a fabulous book; but touches on more adult topics than her other books.

Peter Augustus Duchene is a 10 year old boy who has lost his father to war, his mother to childbirth, and his sister at birth. He lives with a military friend of his father's. The problem is that Peter remembers hearing his sister cry and is convinced that she isn't dead. A fortuneteller tells his that he will find his sister if he follows the elephant; but he can't figure out what she means as there are no elephants in Peter's life. Then a magician tries to perform a feat of magic that goes horribly wrong. Peter needs to figure out how the lonely elephant will help him find his sister. The elephant needs to get home, but before that it will open the eyes of the citizens of Peter's city to the fact that wondrous things can happen.

This was a wonderful book. The characters are engaging and colorful, the writing wonderful. Like DiCamillo's other works the writing style follows classic fairy tale-type prose and results in a darkly atmospheric setting. The story is interspersed with wonderful illustrations by Yojo Tanaka, that fit the mood of the story perfectly.

The book itself is pretty small, at most a couple hours of reading. It seems like it would be a good book to read to children as it starts. As I continued to read it though I think many of the adult characters' pondering and some sensitive topics might make this more suited to the young adult (or older) crowd. At one point the elephant contemplates suicide and Peter's caretaker is occasionally quite cruel. Much of the story centers around characters outside of Peter himself and these characters spend a lot of time contemplating how the wonder of an elephant appearing in the city changes their perception of their lives, because if that can happen anything can happen. I think these contemplations will be lost on a younger child and they may find the book to be very slow moving and boring at parts.

I personally found these contemplations to be fascinating and thought-provoking. This is the kind of book that sounds very good when read out-loud and is very lyrical. The story itself is hopeful as well as thoughtful; although the overall atmosphere is very dark and dreary. I thought it was just a superb story. I look forward to reading DiCamillo's future works and will keep an eye out for her future publications.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo (5/5 stars)

I really wanted to read DiCamillo's new book "The Magician's Elephant" and while I am on the waiting list at the library to get it I decided to check out some of her other books. After reading the synopsis of a couple, I decided this book looked interesting. It ended up being a very well written story and an amazing book.

Edward is a china rabbit that belongs to a young girl. But Edward is a vain rabbit, more concerned about his appearance than about how the little girl loves him. Edward can see the world around him and think about the world but he cannot really interact. Edward's life changes forever when he is lost overboard into the sea and goes on a journey that takes him through many people's lives.

DiCamillo is an excellent story teller. There are few writers out there that you can just tell right away are excellent classic story tellers; DeCamillo is one. This story engaged me immediately and took me on a wonderful emotional and physical journey; where I watched as things unravel from Edward'sperspective.

While the story is more focused at children, I think all ages will adore it. For an adult it is a very quick read, but a wonderful read nonetheless. At some parts it reminded me a little of "TheVelveteen Rabbit" and at other parts the story telling reminded me somewhat of Neil Gaiman's stories for children. What surprised me is despite the number of characters that Edward meets all of them are very real and engaging. I was surprised at both how heart-breaking parts of the story were and how beautiful other parts were. It takes a good writer to pack that much emotion and that much journey into such a slight novel. A couple points in the novel are quite sad, and I wondered if I would be able to get through them while reading aloud without crying. So, a warning to parents who would read this to their children, maybe take a quick breeze through it first to see what you think.

I was also impressed at the lesson the tale tells. It teaches a good lesson about what is really important in life. This is one of those stories that can be enjoyed on many levels. Kids will love the story about a thinking china rabbit on an adventure and adults will be drawn in my this rabbit's quest to figure out what it means to love and be loved. It is a wonderful writer who can appeal to such a wide audience at so many levels. Overall, a wonderful story; I am looking forward to reading more of DiCamillo's books.