Juvenile Fiction Read

I failed to mention in the last post that I read The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo on the plane last week. What a delightful story! DiCamillo artfully captures the interest of the young reader throughout, urging said reader to look up words, listen carefully, heed advice. She capitalizes on the childish fascination with things a bit gross and scary and weaves a tale of bravery and forgiveness despite overwhelming adversity. The first chapter, in which the large-eared, wide-eyed mouse is born ends in a way that compels the reader to read on:

"But, reader, he did live.
This is his story."

The drama involves said mouse, several unscrupulous rats, and Miggery Sow (yes, reader, named for a pig), a pitiful, not-too-bright farm girl, who's been abandoned and abused.

Here are a couple of favorite quotations among many memorable lines:

"Reader, you must know that an interesting fate (sometimes involving rats, sometimes not) awaits almost everyone, mouse or man, who does not conform."

(Oddly enough, I didn't find the book a tirade on conformity, as the previous sentence would suggest.)

"Unfortunately, a rat can hang from a chandelier for only so long before he is discovered. This would be true at even the loudest party."

The true test was giving it to my 12-year-old boy, who devoured the 270-page book in a day. Definitely a must-read for the 7-12 age group.