Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

What are the pros and cons of nonconformity? What might be the social consequences of those who refuse to conform?

Teaching Suggestion: Despereaux, the novel’s protagonist, is unable to conform to his mouse community because of his unusual behavior and interests. He is sentenced to the dungeon by the Mouse Council for refusing to apologize for breaking the rules of the mouse community. Consider discussing the positives and negatives of conformity and allowing students to speculate about the consequences of nonconformists before exploring the resources. 

• This 5-minute video explores conformity and nonconformity in society.
• This article describes the psychological effects of nonconformity.

Short Activity

Use prior knowledge and experience to create a poster with descriptions of the perfect hero. Use these guiding questions to help in your design.

• What would the perfect hero look like?
• What behaviors might the perfect hero have?
• What kind of character flaws could a hero possess?
• Should a hero have physical strength?
• What might be a hero’s thoughts on morality?

Teaching Suggestion: Despereaux is an unlikely hero.