The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, And a Spool of Thread [Rough Cut]

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   2001年のニューベリー賞優秀作に選ばれた『Because of Winn-Dixie』（邦題『きいてほしいの、あたしのこと――ウィン・ディキシーのいた夏』）の著者ケイト・ディカミロが、愛と希望と寛容の「力強さ、すばらしさ、滑稽さ」を深く掘り下げて描いた、ネズミと人間の端整な物語。読者に話しかけるように語られる、古めかしくやや暗めのストーリーは、「ある城の中で1匹のハツカネズミが生まれた」ところから始まる。その子ネズミ、デスペロー・ティリングは、ほかの仲間たちと違っていた。体が異常に小さく、耳がやたらに大きく、おまけにハツカネズミらしくない夢想家だった。人間の王様と美しい王女ピー姫に近づいたデスペローは、悲しいことに自分の父親ネズミによって、ドブネズミがひしめき合う汚い地下牢に追放されてしまう。

   物語は4つの話で構成されている。第1話は、ピー姫にベタぼれしたデスペローが悲惨な目に遭う、悲しいお話。第2話では、デスペローと同じく変わり者のドブネズミ、キアロスクーロが登場する。自分の住みかである地下牢の暗闇を嫌い、光をこよなく愛するキアロスクーロは、やがて城に侵入し、お妃様のスープに飛び込んでしまう。第3話は、何度も何度も「殴られ」たせいで耳がカリフラワーのようにつぶれた、幼い少女ミゲリー・ソーのお話。頭の回転が遅く、耳もろくに聞こえないミゲリーは、ピー姫の冠をかぶることだけを夢見ている。第4話は、地下牢送りとなったデスペローの話に戻り、やがてハツカネズミ、ドブネズミ、少女、王女の4つの生がつながって劇的な結末を迎える。

   胸の内で密かに希望と夢の炎を燃やす子どもたちは、手が届かないと言われるものを欲しがったり「決して破ってはいけないルール」をあえて破ったりする“はみ出し者”ぞろいのキャストに親しみを覚えるだろう。ティモシー・バジル・エリングによる鉛筆描きのイラストも秀逸で、ディカミロの描く広範な光と闇のイメージはもちろん、最後にハッピーエンドを迎えるヒーロー、小さなネズミの優しさ、繊細さまでが見事に表現されている。（9歳以上向き）（Karin Snelon, Amazon.com）

Product Description

"Forgiveness, light, love, and soup. These essential ingredients combine into a tale that is as soul-stirring as it is delicious." — BOOKLIST (starred review)

Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other's lives. What happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out.

From the master storyteller who brought us BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE comes another classic, a fairy tale full of quirky, unforgettable characters, with twenty-four stunning black-and-white illustrations by Timothy Basil Ering. This paperback edition pays tribute to the book's classicdesign, featuring a rough front and elegant gold stamping.

Amazon.com Review

Kate DiCamillo, author of the Newbery Honor book Because of Winn-Dixie, spins a tidy tale of mice and men where she explores the "powerful, wonderful, and ridiculous" nature of love, hope, and forgiveness. Her old-fashioned, somewhat dark story, narrated "Dear Reader"-style, begins "within the walls of a castle, with the birth of a mouse." Despereaux Tilling, the new baby mouse, is different from all other mice. Sadly, the romantic, unmouselike spirit that leads the unusually tiny, large-eared mouse to the foot of the human king and the beautiful Princess Pea ultimately causes him to be banished by his own father to the foul, rat-filled dungeon.

The first book of four tells Despereaux's sad story, where he falls deeply in love with Princess Pea and meets his cruel fate. The second book introduces another creature who differs from his peers--Chiaroscuro, a rat who instead of loving the darkness of his home in the dungeon, loves the light so much he ends up in the castle& in the queen's soup. The third book describes young Miggery Sow, a girl who has been "clouted" so many times that she has cauliflower ears. Still, all the slow-witted, hard-of-hearing Mig dreams of is wearing the crown of Princess Pea. The fourth book returns to the dungeon-bound Despereaux and connects the lives of mouse, rat, girl, and princess in a dramatic denouement.

Children whose hopes and dreams burn secretly within their hearts will relate to this cast of outsiders who desire what is said to be out of their reach and dare to break "never-to-be-broken rules of conduct." Timothy Basil Ering's pencil illustrations are stunning, reflecting DiCamillo's extensive light and darkness imagery as well as the sweet, fragile nature of the tiny mouse hero who lives happily ever after. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson