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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSDespereaux Tilling is the smallest, strangest mouse ever born in the walls of a medieval castle. His ears are enormous, he was born with his eyes already open, and instead of scurrying for crumbs like a proper mouse, he reads books in the library and loses himself in the music of the king's guitar. When Despereaux sneaks into the princess's bedroom just to hear a song more clearly, he falls hopelessly in love with the Princess Pea, breaking every rule the mouse community holds sacred. His alarmed father reports him to the Mouse Council, and Despereaux soon finds himself facing an impossible choice: renounce his love, or be condemned to the dungeon below the castle, where the rats live and where no mouse has ever survived.
Free Battle of the Books questions for The Tale of Despereaux
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about The Tale of Despereaux. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a sister try to teach a brother that the squiggles on paper are tasty?
✓ Answer
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Merlot takes her little brother to the castle library to teach him how to nibble paper, calling the words on the page tasty squiggles. Instead of eating them, he reads them and falls in love with the phrase "Once upon a time."
- First half
In what book does a jailer hold a lit match in a young rat's face for chewing his rope?
✓ Answer
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Gregory the jailer catches the young rat Roscuro nibbling on his rope and lights a match in the rat's face as punishment. The flame burns off Roscuro's whiskers on one side and lights an obsession with light inside his soul.
- First half
In what book are soup, spoons, bowls, and kettles all outlawed by a grieving king?
✓ Answer
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Because his beloved queen died while eating soup, the heartbroken king outlaws soup along with every spoon, bowl, and kettle. The king's men collect all of them from the Kingdom of Dor and pile them in the dungeon.
- Second half
In what book does a girl call a passing royal family "human stars"?
✓ Answer
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
When Mig tries to describe what she saw to Uncle, she says she saw human stars all glittering and glowing. The phrase captures how dazzled and hopeful she is for the first time in her life.
- Second half
In what book does a serving girl sneeze straight on a king's pork chop right before it is served?
✓ Answer
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
In Cook's kitchen, Mig drops eggshells into the pound cake batter, scrubs the floor with cooking oil instead of cleanser, and sneezes on the king's pork chop moments before it would be sent to the table. Cook decides that the only place left for such a worker is the dungeon.
- Near the end
In what book does a mouse roll a spool of red thread through the castle to save a princess?
✓ Answer
The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
The mouse plans to unroll the thread behind him like Gregory's rope so he can find his way through the dungeon. The spool weighs almost as much as he does, but he pushes on.
