The Tale of Desperaux - Newberry Award

Every year an outstanding children`s book receives the American Newbery award. In 2004 the tale of Desperaux (written by Kate DiCamillo) won the Newbery.

Let`s take a look at what traits the tale of Desperaux has that put it over the top enough to be recognized by the American literature foundation (the people who help choose the winner)

When reading a book, everyone wants to know what the characters are feeling, that`s what a universal theme is. A universal theme includes challenges that any human can relate to; including Love, Hate, Friendship, Birth, Death and Sacrifice. The tale of Desperaux is a story about one`s love for another and their sacrifice and honesty to save each other. After reading a love story Desperaux sneaks into Princess pea`s room and is overwhelmed by her beauty that he risks getting sent down to the dungeon to speak to her and sit in her hand. Even the bad evil characters give the amazed reader things to relate to... Roscuro, the rat is talked away from what he wants which is light. In hopes to fit in with the other rats he befriends Gregory and steals his beloved handkerchief. A universal theme helps the reader understand the story and what the characters are feeling.

A Newbery award worthy book should have a twist that lets the reader think of our plain world in a different way. This twist could be anything from a upside down world to a switch of character roles. The tale of Desperaux has a beautiful twist in it... Desperaux is a small mouse that saves the princess instead of a tall hansom knight like in most tales. The small sensitive rat is the trouble behind this story whereas most stories feature a large hooded creature. This small twist baffles the reader and keeps them wanting more for they have never experienced such a strange storyline.

And yet there's more... the third most important trait that the tale of Desperaux has is a clear story line that children