Awards

• Nominated for Heartland Booksellers Award 2025 (United States)

Overview

In a wise and magical follow-up to the critically acclaimed The Puppets of Spelhorst, Kate DiCamillo revisits the land of Norendy, where tales swirl within tales – and where every moment is a story in the making. At the Hotel Balzaar, Marta’s mother rises before the sun, puts on her uniform and instructs Marta to roam as she will ... but quietly – invisibly – like a mouse. While her mother cleans rooms, Marta slips down the back staircase to the grand lobby to chat with the bellman, study the painting of an angel’s wing over the fireplace, and watch a cat chase a mouse around the face of the grandfather clock, all while dreaming of the return of her soldier father. One day, a mysterious countess with a parrot checks in, promising a story – in fact, seven stories in all. As the stories unfold, Marta begins to wonder: could the secret to her father’s disappearance lie in the countess’s tales?

Full Product Details

9781529529166

Table of Contents

Reviews

[Kate DiCamillo’s] Norendy fairytales are an acquired taste. They are odd, cool and detached […] Each piece of the puzzle is perfectly polished and they all fit in the end — just not necessarily in the way you expect. I absolutely love them […] The artwork is by JúliaSardà, the Spanish artist who is fast becoming the go-to illustrator for all the best edgy, off-kilter children’s stories. Her countess looks like a fabulous art deco aristocrat, worthy of a Tamara de Lempicka painting. * The Times Children’s Book of the Week * Featured, The Bookseller November Children’s Previews * The Bookseller * One thing is always certain. A book by Kate DiCamillo will always be captivating…Kate has once again crafted a story that will draw children in, and provide them with much to consider and reflect upon about longing, hope and belief. It goes without saying this is a 5 rating for another splendid fable. * Just So Stories *

Author Information

Kate DiCamillo is one of America’s most beloved storytellers, author of The Tale of Despereaux and Flora and Ulysses, both of which have been awarded the prestigious Newbery Medal; Because of Winn-Dixie, which received a Newbery Honor; The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, which won a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award; and the bestselling Mercy Watson series. Júlia Sardà is a Spanish artist and the author-illustrator of The Queen in the Cave, as well as the illustrator of Mary Who Wrote Frankenstein by Linda Bailey, The Liszts by Kyo Maclear, The Wolf's Secret by Nicolas Digard and Myriam Dahman, Moving the Millers' Minnie Moore Mine Mansion by Dave Eggers and a number of classics, including Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz. Find Júlia on Instagram as @juliasardaportabella.

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