Welcome to the story of Despereaux, an unforgettable literary hero for our time from the pen of award-winning writer Kate DiCamillo. The Tale of Despereaux takes the reader back to the timeless genre of fairytales, but with a fantastic modern twist and a wryly witty authorial voice. The Tale of Despereaux is the story of a tiny, fragile-looking mouse with a huge heart. It?s a fairytale of heroes and villains; of a beautiful princess who inspires love and courage in the unlikely hero; of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in a dark, bleak dungeon and longs for the light and of a servant-girl, whose one wish is to be a princess. These characters' lives become inextricably entwined in this classic new story for all ages.