KidLit Forum

The Tales of Despereaux tells the story of a mouse, Despereaux and a rat, Roscuro. Despereaux is an unusual mouse, who likes music and is able to read. One day following the sounds of a guitar, he saw a beautiful princess, Pea and falls in love with her, because she looks like the princess from the story which Despereaux was reading. He made a mistake because he spokes to the Princess, which was against the mice rules. He was sent to jail, where he met a nice guardian, who saved him because he told him a story. Another story is that of the rat Roscuro, who is considered an unusual rat because he likes the light. There is another story (frame story) of a girl, Mig, who lost her ill mother and is sold by her father as a servant.
Like in Charlotte Web's book an animal with a bad reputation is reconsidered and its personal story/history is considered to be important. This book also takes a look upon the relation between the man and the animals and suggesting that they have feelings (they can love, hate, listen to music, fear etc.).