The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread (by Kate DiCamillo)

You will also, dear reader, hear of Roscuro the rat, who also loves light, but has a grudge against the princess. And of Miggery Sow, an abused, dimwitted, partially deaf serving girl who wishes to be a princess. And you will hear how the strange stories of these three outsiders intersect in a most unusual way. Reader, do you believe in happily ever after?

Kate DiCamillo can do charming. Her debut novel, "Because of Winn-Dixie," was simple and enchanting. Despereaux's tale is more complex and stylized: The author directly addresses the reader throughout, and the hero disappears for nearly a hundred pages. But it has charm in buckets, perfectly matched by Timothy Ering's delightfully weird illustrations.

THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX hits the trifecta for a children's book: It makes a great read-alone, read-aloud, or reading group book. It's easy to read, despite its length and sometimes advanced vocabulary, and perfectly paced and plotted to hold a middle-grade reader's interest. The direct address makes it perfect for involving listeners in the reading. And that same way of talking to the reader allows the author to raise questions that would make for interesting literature group discussions.