{"id":42993,"date":"2023-11-14T21:59:42","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T02:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=42993"},"modified":"2023-11-14T21:59:42","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T02:59:42","slug":"review-of-the-puppets-of-spelhorst-by-kate-dicamillo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=42993","title":{"rendered":"Review of The Puppets of Spelhorst, by Kate DiCamillo"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Puppets of Spelhorst<\/p>\n

A Norendy Tale<\/em><\/p>\n

by Kate DiCamillo
\nillustrated by Julie Morstad<\/p>\n

Candlewick Press, 2023. 150 pages.
\nReview written November 8, 2023, from a library book.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

Hooray! Kate DiCamillo has started a series of original fairy tales! <\/p>\n

Now, mind you, I’m a fairy tale fan, and this wasn’t my favorite ever. There’s not much magic — well, except puppets that can talk — and no fairies at all. But the feel does fit fairy tales, and I definitely would like to read this book aloud to an audience of primary grade kids. There’s a musical quality to the words and the atmospheric illustrations fit perfectly.<\/p>\n

The story itself is about five puppets — “a king and a wolf and a girl and a boy and an owl.” An old sea captain named Spelhorst buys them because the girl reminds them of someone he loved once.<\/p>\n

But when the sea captain dies, their adventures begin. The puppets want to be in a story. The wolf keeps going on about his sharp teeth. The king is very proud of his kingly nature. The owl is full of wise sayings. The boy has a quiver full of arrows. And the girl has beautiful eyes that want to see the world.<\/p>\n

And the puppets do indeed find a story, complete with some danger in the middle, but ending up with adventure.<\/p>\n

To give you an idea of the flavor, here’s a section when the puppets are in a dark trunk on the cart of a rag-and-bone man who takes things that aren’t wanted:<\/p>\n

The puppets lay together in the chest. They could hear the rag-and-bone man’s song.<\/p>\n

“Who are we?” said the owl.<\/p>\n

“Well, I suppose we’re something that’s not wanted,” said the girl.<\/p>\n

“Nonsense,” said the king. “Everyone wants a king. That’s the very definition of kingliness.”<\/p>\n

“It’s so dark in here,” said the boy.<\/p>\n

“Darkness means nothing when your teeth are as sharp as mine,” said the wolf.<\/p>\n

“Into the darkness, there sometimes comes a light,” intoned the owl.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’m definitely looking forward to more idiosyncratic fairy tales from the quirky mind of Kate DiCamillo. (Honestly! How does she think of these things?) This one left me smiling.<\/p>\n

candlewick.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Fiction\/puppets_of_spelhorst.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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