6copies

The Tale of Despereaux x 6Enlarge cover

Suitable for 7 - 10 years

Format
Paperback
gbp prices
Save £4.19
Offer price: £37.75
Rewards/RRP: £41.94
Product ordering

  • Schools earn Scholastic Rewards when parents or staff order from us. If you work at a school you can use Rewards to buy books and resources for your classroom or library. Find out how to use Scholastic Rewards

Buy this and your school gets £7.55 to spend on books Orders of £10 or more will earn 20% of your order value back in Scholastic Rewards for your school.

This product has not been rated yet.

0 reviews (Add a review)

Feefo platinum trusted service award 2020
Every order over £10 earns Free books for your school. #ScholasticSupportsSchools

Delivery information

  • FREE UK delivery for schools on orders containing at least one paid item.
  • FREE UK delivery on orders £25 or over
  • £3.95 delivery charge on UK orders under £25

Book Club orders

  • FREE delivery to schools
  • Books will be despatched after the school's order is confirmed

UK delivery within 5-7 working days

Delivery charges and times vary for overseas addresses

Refund and returns policy

More books for 7 - 10 year olds

Categories

Product description

The glorious tale of a little castle mouse with a big heart – and a thirst for adventure! Despereaux is a mouse in love; in love with music, with stories, and with a princess named Pea. He can read books, and he can hear sounds that no one else can hear. (Two very dangerous talents for a castle mouse like him.) Everyone expects Despereaux to die young, but he stubbornly refuses to do so. But when he’s whisked into a breakneck adventure, will he finally win his heart’s desire?

  • A stunning Newbery Medal winner by Kate DiCamillo
  • A timeless story of chivalry, friendship and magic
  • Kate is one of America’s top children’s authors
  • Her other novels include The Tiger Rising

Supplied as a pack of six copies.

Product Details

Catalogue number

5791 in Books and Resources for Schools 2021

Format

Paperback

Date published

June 1st, 2017

Condition

New

In this pack

Author/Illustrator

Kate DiCamillo

Photo of Kate DiCamillo

When I was 5 years old, I moved with my mother and brother from Philadelphia to a small town in Florida. People talked more slowly there and said words I had never heard before, like “ain’t” and “y’all” and “ma’am.” Everybody knew everybody else. Even if they didn’t, they acted like they did. It was all so different from what I had known before, and I fell swiftly and madly in love.

I also grew up with a dog I loved — a black standard poodle named Nanette. I spent a lot of time dressing Nanette up — in a green ballet tutu and then later like a disco dancer. She was a wonderful, very accommodating dog.

I was a very sickly kid, and suffered from chronic pneumonia, which is why we moved to the warm southern climate. I think being ill contributed to my development as a writer. I learned early on to entertain myself by reading. I learned to rely on stories as a way of understanding the world. I read everything I could, and some of my favorites were The Twenty-One Balloons, The Secret Garden, The Yearling, Ribsy, and a book called Somebody Else’s Shoes.

Writing my own stories had always been one of my dreams, but I didn’t start until I was 29. I was working in a book warehouse and was assigned to the third floor where all the children’s books were. For four and a half years, I spent all day, every day around children’s books and it wasn’t long before I fell in love with them.

I also discovered how much time and work goes into creating stories. In college, teachers often complimented me on my writing, and I made the mistake of believing I had a talent for it. I finally realized that talent really doesn’t have anything to do with it, but working does. So five days a week, I get up, drink a cup of coffee, and then go to the computer and write. Two pages a day are what I ask of myself. I never want to write, but I’m always glad that I have done it. It takes me about a year to finish a book.

I wrote Because of Winn-Dixie because I was homesick for Florida (I live in Minneapolis) and because I wanted a dog and couldn’t have one (I lived in an apartment building that didn’t permit them). It allowed me to go home and to spend time with a dog of the highest order. As for the other characters, I never know where they come from; I just feel happy and lucky when they choose me to tell their stories. India Opal Buloni seems so real to me, I don’t think I could have made her up. Rather, I feel like I discovered her.

The most rewarding part of being a writer is when people tell me my stories have meant something to them. Also, I’ve gotten letters from kids who say they didn’t like to read until they read Because of Winn-Dixie, and now they like books. That’s an amazing thing. It makes me feel like the small stories I tell matter.

If you want to be a writer, write a little bit every day. Pay attention to the world around you. Stories are hiding, waiting everywhere. You just have to open your eyes and your heart.

Reviews

This product has not been reviewed yet.

Add a review

Customers also bought

Promotions available

How do I use promotional codes