I’m sorry, but I HATED the 2004 Newbery winner, The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. I’m not even going to bother with a picture. On the positive side, the story will introduce some readers to some new vocabulary. But I definitely think parents may want to read this for themselves before reading it with their children.
This story was too dark for me. I know some kids like such stories (like the Lemony Snicket books), and if yours is one, they might enjoy this. I was bothered by Despereaux’s father and brother turning him in (because he dared to talk to a human!), even though they knew it would mean certain death in a dungeon of rats for such a minor crime.
Even more disturbing to me was the treatment of the character Miggory Sow. She’s named for a pig; she’s ugly and gets fat; her father SELLS her for a hen, a red tablecloth, and some cigarettes; and the man who buys her BEATS her until her ears look like cauliflowers and she loses part of her hearing. She’s described as “not the sharpest knife in the drawer”—boy, doesn’t that reinforce stereotypes!
I do think Graeme Malcolm did a great job narrating the audiobook. His British accent was perfect for this medieval tale, and he created different voices for the various characters – Italian accents for the Italian-named (Botticelli was especially amusing) rats, French for Despereaux’s mother Antoinette, Scottish for the threadmaster Hovis. Some of the voices may sound evil, but it IS a dark tale. DiCamillo’s use of asides to the reader/listener comes across as very intrusive and irritating in the audiobook. I did like the lovely cover and and deckled paper of the hardbound version, but found the pencil illustrations by Timothy Basil Eving generally only added to the grimness of the story.
[Originally drafted 8/26/07, revised 5/27/18. The audiobook, and a print copy for reference, were borrowed from and returned to my university library.]
A post comparing four different editions of the 1923 Newbery winner, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting, got so long that I set it up on its own website.
Bottom line: There are some editions out there that do not make it clear that they have been revised from the 1922 original. Even with those that are upfront about changes, it's good to know exactly what is different. Buyer beware!
© Amanda Pape - 2007
This story was too dark for me. I know some kids like such stories (like the Lemony Snicket books), and if yours is one, they might enjoy this. I was bothered by Despereaux’s father and brother turning him in (because he dared to talk to a human!), even though they knew it would mean certain death in a dungeon of rats for such a minor crime.
Even more disturbing to me was the treatment of the character Miggory Sow. She’s named for a pig; she’s ugly and gets fat; her father SELLS her for a hen, a red tablecloth, and some cigarettes; and the man who buys her BEATS her until her ears look like cauliflowers and she loses part of her hearing. She’s described as “not the sharpest knife in the drawer”—boy, doesn’t that reinforce stereotypes!
I do think Graeme Malcolm did a great job narrating the audiobook. His British accent was perfect for this medieval tale, and he created different voices for the various characters – Italian accents for the Italian-named (Botticelli was especially amusing) rats, French for Despereaux’s mother Antoinette, Scottish for the threadmaster Hovis. Some of the voices may sound evil, but it IS a dark tale. DiCamillo’s use of asides to the reader/listener comes across as very intrusive and irritating in the audiobook. I did like the lovely cover and and deckled paper of the hardbound version, but found the pencil illustrations by Timothy Basil Eving generally only added to the grimness of the story.
[Originally drafted 8/26/07, revised 5/27/18. The audiobook, and a print copy for reference, were borrowed from and returned to my university library.]
A post comparing four different editions of the 1923 Newbery winner, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting, got so long that I set it up on its own website.
Bottom line: There are some editions out there that do not make it clear that they have been revised from the 1922 original. Even with those that are upfront about changes, it's good to know exactly what is different. Buyer beware!
© Amanda Pape - 2007
No comments:
Post a Comment