Winner of the Newbery Medal! Kate DiCamillo introduces a hero for all time! Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling a mouse who is in love with music stories and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon up into a glittering castle and ultimately into each others lives. And what happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader it is your destiny to find out. From the master storyteller who brought us BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE comes another classic a fairy tale full of quirky unforgettable characters featuring twenty-four stunning black-and-white illustrations by Timothy Basil Ering in an elegant design that pays tribute to the best in classic childrens books and bookmaking traditions.The beloved author of BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE enlightens us with a tale of adventure despair love and soup.