July 18, 2006

Dear New Mexico Readers,

I am deeply moved that so many of you liked The Tale of Despereaux. I wrote the book because my best friend’s son (his name is Luke) asked me for the story of an unlikely hero with exceptionally large ears. It wasn’t a big leap of imagination, then, for me to think that Luke’s story should be about a mouse. After all, can you imagine a more unlikely hero than a small, sickly, odd mouse?

I had a very hard time writing the book. It was different than the other books I had written (Because of Winn-Dixie and The Tiger Rising) and I was afraid that I would fail miserably at telling such a complicated (and at the same time, silly) story.

Often, as I worked on the book, I felt exactly like Despereaux—as if I were journeying into a deep, dark, rat-filled dungeon. Like Despereaux, I felt lost and afraid. And also like the mouse, I didn’t feel up to the task. But I kept going. I kept taking tiny step after tiny step into the darkness. And eventually, I found my way back to the light.

Can you imagine, then, how much it means to me that you like this story? I am deeply grateful to you for reading it, for venturing into the dungeon (and back out again) with Despereaux and me.

Your grateful friend,

Kate DiCamillo

last updated July 20, 2006