Homeschool with Despereaux

When we went to see a movie last year and we saw the preview for the Tale of Despereaux, I noticed that the movie was based on a book. I immediately thought I could use this opportunity to homeschool with Despereaux. My children would be interested in the book because they knew that a movie was coming out.

We read the book aloud and enjoyed reading it together. Yesterday we were able to see The Tale of Despereaux in the movie theater, so I thought I would write about what I thought of the movie and the book.

The movie stayed pretty close to the plot and details of the book. The book really came to life for me when I watched the movie. Now that I have seen the movie I like the book even more.

I’m not one of those people that ever got into using the Prairie Primer for the Little House books or any of those guides that pick apart famous literature. I like to enjoy a book and talk about it, but not beat it to death with a literature guide to the point that I don’t enjoy the book anymore.

The Tale of Despereaux has some wonderful ideas and character qualities to talk about. There is a struggle between love and hate, dark and light, and forgiveness and revenge. There is also plenty of opportunity given to talk about chivalry, honor and faith. You learn about how the king deals with grief and how it affects the entire kingdom.

Despereaux is an engaging and loveable character. He is not timid like other mice (even though they try to teach him to be). He expresses a wonder about the world around him and displays wonderful character qualitites of humility, faith, love, and just a general willingness to help others.

If you’re thinking of homeschooling with Despereaux, I recommend reading the book first and then watching the movie. My teens weren’t as excited about the movie as my 7 year old was, but it was still good for them to watch.

Did you see the movie or read the book? I’d be interested to hear your comments.

Originally posted 2009-01-05 04:52:32. Republished by Blog Post Promoter