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The Tale of Despereaux
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From: Susan Lempke <slempke>
Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 10:25:52 -0600
One can read much more into the omission of Despereaux by School Library Journal, which has a very lengthy list of year's best, than by the Horn Book Fanfare list, which is extremely spare.
My problem with Despereaux, and I suspect others agree, is the "Dear Reader" tone. Either one finds it charming and whimsical, or one finds it annoying and disruptive. I like DiCamillo's work in general and there were many things in Despereaux that were daring and intriguing. For me, the direct addressing of the reader was continuously jarring, and seemed derivative of Lemony Snicket but missing the droll attitude that goes along with it in A Series of Unfortunate Events. The last page (the mouse whispering into the reader's ear) is even more cloying to this Reader, but I can certainly see where if someone is completely engaged in the book and has loved the Victorian presentation, that is an utterly charming finale. It's probably sort of the same situation that humorous books face--not everyone has the same sense of humor, and if it's not funny, no one can persuade you that it's funny.
Directly addressing the reader probably does work better as a read-aloud, which may be why so many teachers have so enjoyed using it.
--Susan Dove Lempke
Message----From: fairrosa [mailto:fairrosa at nyc.rr.com] Sent: Sunday, January 18, 2004 10:39 PM To: ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Subject: Re: [ccbc-net] The Tale of Despereaux
I just discovered omissions from two other major lists:
School Library Journal's Best Books of 2003 and The Horn Book Fanfare List
(Although both journals gave it favorable reviews -- no stars, mind you!)
So... aparantly a finely crafted work that is not only widely loved by librarians and teachers (and not just for its usefulness in teaching a literary unit) in the field BUT adored vehemently by child readers/listeners, why is The Tale of Despereaux so overlooked (or even "scorned"?) by children's literature experts??
I am really curious...
-- fairrosa
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Received on Mon 19 Jan 2004 10:25:52 AM CST
Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 10:25:52 -0600
One can read much more into the omission of Despereaux by School Library Journal, which has a very lengthy list of year's best, than by the Horn Book Fanfare list, which is extremely spare.
My problem with Despereaux, and I suspect others agree, is the "Dear Reader" tone. Either one finds it charming and whimsical, or one finds it annoying and disruptive. I like DiCamillo's work in general and there were many things in Despereaux that were daring and intriguing. For me, the direct addressing of the reader was continuously jarring, and seemed derivative of Lemony Snicket but missing the droll attitude that goes along with it in A Series of Unfortunate Events. The last page (the mouse whispering into the reader's ear) is even more cloying to this Reader, but I can certainly see where if someone is completely engaged in the book and has loved the Victorian presentation, that is an utterly charming finale. It's probably sort of the same situation that humorous books face--not everyone has the same sense of humor, and if it's not funny, no one can persuade you that it's funny.
Directly addressing the reader probably does work better as a read-aloud, which may be why so many teachers have so enjoyed using it.
--Susan Dove Lempke
Message----From: fairrosa [mailto:fairrosa at nyc.rr.com] Sent: Sunday, January 18, 2004 10:39 PM To: ccbc-net at ccbc.education.wisc.edu Subject: Re: [ccbc-net] The Tale of Despereaux
I just discovered omissions from two other major lists:
School Library Journal's Best Books of 2003 and The Horn Book Fanfare List
(Although both journals gave it favorable reviews -- no stars, mind you!)
So... aparantly a finely crafted work that is not only widely loved by librarians and teachers (and not just for its usefulness in teaching a literary unit) in the field BUT adored vehemently by child readers/listeners, why is The Tale of Despereaux so overlooked (or even "scorned"?) by children's literature experts??
I am really curious...
-- fairrosa
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Received on Mon 19 Jan 2004 10:25:52 AM CST
