From master storyteller Kate DiCamillo comes an original fairy tale—with enchanting illustrations by Julie Morstad—in which five puppets confront circumstances beyond their control with patience, cunning, and high spirits.
Shut up in a trunk by a taciturn old sea captain with a secret, five friends—a king, a wolf, a girl, a boy, and an owl—bicker, boast, and comfort one another in the dark. Individually, they dream of song and light, freedom and flight, purpose and glory, but they all agree they are part of a larger story, bound each to each by chance, bonded by the heart’s mysteries.
When at last their shared fate arrives, landing them on a mantel in a blue room in the home of two little girls, the truth is more astonishing than any of them could have imagined. A beloved author of modern classics draws on her most moving themes with humor, heart, and wisdom in the first of the Norendy Tales, a projected trio of novellas linked by place and mood, each illustrated in black and white by a different virtuoso illustrator. A magical and beautifully packaged gift volume designed to be read aloud and shared, The Puppets of Spelhorst is a tale that soothes and strengthens us on our journey, leading us through whatever dark forest we find ourselves in.---from the publisher
160 pages 978-1536216752 Ages 7-10
Keywords: fairy tale, puppets, friendship, humor, overcoming obstacles, If You Liked The Tale of Despereaux, 7 year old, 8 year old, 9 year old, 10 year old
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“People struggle, people fight
For the simple pleasures in their life
The trouble comes from everywhere
It’s a little more than you can bear
I know that it will hurt
I know that it will break your heart”
– Natalie Merchant (1998)
“Once there was a king.
And a wolf.
And a girl with a shepherd’s crook.
And a boy with arrows and a bow.
And also, there was an owl.
The king had a beard made of human hair.
The wolf’s teeth were bared in a snarl.
The girl wore a green cloak.
The arrows in the boy’s quiver were sharp enough to prick a finger.
As for the owl, his feathers were real.
The king and the wolf and the girl and the boy and the owl
lay jumbled together at the bottom of a trunk that had the word SPELHORST
stenciled in gold letters on its lid and sides.
The king and the wolf and the girl and the boy and the owl were puppets,
and they were waiting for a story to begin.”
– The prologue
THE PUPPETS OF SPELHORST did, indeed, all but break my heart. Master storyteller Kate DiCamillo and talented artist Julie Morstad collaborate in bringing these five puppets to life in a haunting and frequently-giggle-inducing original fairy tale for elementary school readers and audiences. The lively dialogue they share with one another, and the pitch-perfect black-and-white illustrations that contribute to the puppets’ rich characterizations, lead to these five inanimate objects, each in search of purpose and meaning, becoming quite memorable characters. Each member of this idiosyncratic quintet was very alive to me.
Since the puppets are not able to move about on their own, the changing settings are the result of the puppets-in-the-trunk being alternately purchased, bestowed, or otherwise acquired by nefarious means by a series of people (and, sometimes, creatures).
The puppets’ adventures begin with a lonely, old sea captain who comes upon a toy shop while walking down a dark, winding, unfamiliar alley. He is instantly transfixed by the girl puppet, who reminds him of a long-ago lost love. Informed by the store clerk that the five “must be purchased together or not at all,” as “they are in a story,” the captain forks over the dough and the quintet begin their journeying.
The third act concludes with the puppets and their latest owner having departed to parts unknown. The first of a planned “Norendy” trilogy, I’ll be impatiently awaiting the second novella in the series.
Recommended by: Richie Partington, MLIS, California USA
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