The eBook deal of the day today for the Amazon Kindle is the 2004 Newbery Medal-winning children’s fantasy book The Tale of Despereaux for only $.99 (that’s 88% off the list price of $7.99).

Note, this deal is valid only for today, Saturday, September 17, 2011, until 11:59PM PST.

If you’d like to own a physical copy of The Tale of Despereaux, the book is also available in hardcover for $12.23 and paperback for $7.99. The paperback edition is currently part of Amazon’s 4-for-3 promotion, where you can purchase four select items for the price of three (see the Special Offers and Product Promotions section of the product page).

Text-to-Speech is enabled on this title, which also includes the illustrations by Timothy Basil Ering.

Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other’s lives. What happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out.

From the master storyteller who brought us BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE comes another classic, a fairy tale full of quirky, unforgettable characters, with twenty-four stunning black-and-white illustrations by Timothy Basil Ering. This paperback edition pays tribute to the book’s classic design, featuring a rough front and elegant gold stamping.