{"product_id":"the-norendy-talesisbn-9781536216753","title":"The Norendy Tales","description":"\u003cb\u003eA\u003ci\u003e New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“Kate DiCamillo's dazzling first title in the Norendy Tales trilogy is brimming with wit, whimsy, and heart as it follows five puppets fulfilling their thrilling shared destiny.” – \u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShut 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, \u003ci\u003eThe Puppets of Spelhorst\u003c\/i\u003e is a tale that soothes and strengthens us on our journey, leading us through whatever dark forest we find ourselves in.Five puppets pass through the lives of one sad adult after another, hoping to find their story. Their journey is illustrated in entrancing, haunted black-and-white art by Julie Morstad. Finally, the puppets are given to a child who writes a play for them to star in — a play that ties the tales of all the forlorn adults back together in a tour de force that a lesser author would be afraid even to attempt. . . Both ‘Despereaux’ and ‘Spelhorst’ demand a lot of their readers. . . Children need stories that help them explore . . . darkness.”\u003cbr\u003e—The New York Times Book Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA quintet of puppets—“the king and the wolf and the girl\/ and the boy and the owl”—ponder their dreams and yearnings in this quietly entrancing novella told in three acts. . . . Newbery Medalist DiCamillo applies spare prose and witty conversation in fleshing out the puppets’ desires as well as exploring the power of stories to promote community and offer a path to fulfillment.\u003cbr\u003e—Publishers Weekly (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLike many other stories featuring toys, from \u003ci\u003eHitty\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003eThe Mouse and His Child\u003c\/i\u003e, there is a strain of melancholy here, with characters who long for autonomy but whose existence is dependent on the imaginations of others. This mood is perfectly captured in digitally rendered pencil drawings that add specificity (a Regency-esque setting in fictional Norendy), dignity, drama, and sheer beauty.\u003cbr\u003e—The Horn Book (starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhat treasure box does DiCamillo have in store for young readers this time? One that contains five beautifully crafted puppets. . . DiCamillo’s storytelling is as effortless as always, and Morstad’s frequent pencil illustrations elevate it further. This first of the Norendy Tales chapter-book series is guaranteed to enchant young readers. This collaboration by two masters of their craft—a Newbery Medalist and a Governor General’s Literary Award finalist—will prove irresistible.\u003cbr\u003e—Booklist (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe illustrations bring the puppets to life and add to the magic and whimsy of the tale. With themes of love and loss, this chapter book reminds us there is light to be found in every darkness. . . An enchanting and original fairy tale that will delight both young and old.\u003cbr\u003e—School Library Journal (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA new book from Kate DiCamillo always gives reason to celebrate, and her latest fairy tale is no exception. . . . The Puppets of Spelhorst’s short chapters of simple yet often profound prose beg to be read aloud. This exciting, fast-paced story contains several pointed touches of female empowerment as well as a glorious surprise ending that is revealed in a full-page spread. Julie Morstad’s illustrations do an excellent job of setting an old-fashioned, fairy-tale mood while achieving a delicate feat: making these puppets look both inanimate yet lively. . . With all the makings of a classic fairy tale, The Puppets of Spelhorst skillfully addresses many of DiCamillo’s favorite themes: the power of love and togetherness; the many unexpected wonders of the world; the importance of following one’s dreams; and the majesty of stories and storytelling.\u003cbr\u003e—BookPage (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe first of an anticipated trilogy of novellas, this is a quiet story of belonging, family, and destiny. The illustrations do remarkable work in reflecting the blank eyes and fixed features of the puppets while also evoking a strong emotional response to them through subtle choices in their posture, shading, and relative size on the page.\u003cbr\u003e—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDiCamillo has a knack for capturing the real sentiments of children (and puppets), foibles and all, in fantastical settings and circumstances. . . . As in all DiCamillo's stories, the pages are peppered with smart, wry humor, balanced with moving moments of flawed humanity. An absolute gem. . . . Kate DiCamillo's dazzling first title in the Norendy Tales trilogy is brimming with wit, whimsy, and heart as it follows five puppets fulfilling their thrilling shared destiny.\u003cbr\u003e—Shelf Awareness\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePuppets yearn for greater things. . . . A quiet, comforting fable of identity and belonging.\u003cbr\u003e—Kirkus Reviews\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMs. DiCamillo is always a careful writer, deploying words with dignity, economy and affection. . . readers ages 7-10 are likely to want to know what happens next.\u003cbr\u003e—The Wall Street Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLyrically written and enchantingly illustrated, it's an instant classic created by two masters in their craft.\u003cbr\u003e—The San Francisco Chronicle\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAn unforgettable fairy tale about five puppets seeking to pursue their dreams. With enchanting illustrations from Julie Morstad, The Puppets of Spelhorst is a magical story perfect for family read-alouds.\u003cbr\u003e—The Barnes \u0026amp; Noble Reads Blog\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWow. DiCamillo’s \u003ci\u003eThe Puppets of Spelhorst\u003c\/i\u003e is a master class in storytelling. As soon as I finished the book, I turned back to page one and started reading it again. Five stars.\u003cbr\u003e—Colby Sharp, educator and coauthor of The Commonsense Guide to Your Classroom Library\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere’s so much more to talk about with this book. The role of the girls who play with the puppets and how their very different impressions of them cause great changes. The role of the maid Jane Twiddum and what she wants. Heck, there’s a whole undercurrent of feminism and the roles puppets and living women play within society, but I suppose I’ll save that for someone else’s thesis. The important thing to understand is that this is a story where it doesn’t matter how physically passive you are. Your interior life, your hopes and dreams and goals, that’s the thing that matters. That’s what’s going to make you into an active protagonist in the end, regardless of whether or not you have the ability to move. The Puppets of Spelhorst taught me that. Now imagine what it could teach your own children.\u003cbr\u003e—Betsy Bird, A Fuse #8 Production, School Library Journal\u003cb\u003eKate DiCamillo\u003c\/b\u003e is one of America’s most beloved storytellers. She is a former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and a two-time Newbery Medalist. Born in Philadelphia, she grew up in Florida and now lives in Minneapolis.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJulie Morstad\u003c\/b\u003e is the illustrator of numerous acclaimed books for young readers, including \u003ci\u003eHouse of Dreams: The Life of L. M. Montgomery\u003c\/i\u003e by Liz Rosenberg, \u003ci\u003eWhen Green Becomes Tomatoes \u003c\/i\u003eby Julie Fogliano, and \u003ci\u003eSwan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova\u003c\/i\u003e by Laurel Snyder. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.Chapter One\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003eThere was once an old sea captain who lived in a small room above a tailor shop. The captain’s name was Spelhorst, and he had no wife, no children, no family. He was alone in the world and took his meals at a café down the street from the tailor shop. There, the old man would sit at a table and stare past everything and everyone as if he were on the prow of a ship, looking out to sea.\u003cbr\u003e   One of the captain’s eyes was clouded over with cataracts, but the other eye was a bright and astonishing blue.\u003cbr\u003e   On good days, days when his knees did not ache and the weather was fine, Spelhorst walked around the city for hours at a time.\u003cbr\u003e   On bad days, he stayed abed, staring at the ceiling, studying its cracks and water stains and spiderwebs. He listened to the door of the tailor shop as it opened and closed. He could hear the murmur of voices, the sound of people requesting things, demanding things. Sometimes he could hear the tailor shouting at his wife in Italian. Sometimes he could hear the tailor’s wife weeping.\u003cbr\u003e   The pigeons on the windowsill of Spelhorst’s room looked in at the old man with bright, disdainful eyes. The birds arrived and departed and returned, and their wings sounded like someone shuffling a deck of cards.\u003cbr\u003e   The sea captain paid the pigeons no mind.\u003cbr\u003e   He did not even look in their direction.\u003cbr\u003e   He kept his eyes on the ceiling.\u003cbr\u003e   He tried to think of nothing at all.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e **\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e And then there came a day—a good day—when Spelhorst’s knees did not ache and the weather was clear, and the old man walked and walked. He ended up very far from the tailor shop, in a part of the city that he did not know, in an alley that was dark and winding.\u003cbr\u003e   He came upon a toy shop, and in the window of the shop, he saw displayed a king and a wolf and a girl and a boy and an owl.\u003cbr\u003e   The puppets were hanging from fishing line. They were turning slowly in the gust of air made by the opening and closing of the shop door.\u003cbr\u003e   Spelhorst stopped. He took his cap from his head and stared at the puppets.\u003cbr\u003e   There he was: a man without family, a man  without children or grandchildren, a man utterly devoid of whimsy or wonder, staring at a toy store window, bewitched entirely by puppets.\u003cbr\u003e   But Spelhorst was not staring at all of the puppets. He was staring at one puppet only—the girl with the cloak and the shepherd’s crook.\u003cbr\u003e   The girl had the heart-shaped face and violet eyes of someone Spelhorst had loved long ago.\u003cbr\u003e   Loved and lost.\u003cbr\u003e   Loved and lost, loved and lost, the ever-repeating story of the world.\u003cbr\u003e   “I must have her,” Spelhorst said aloud to no one.\u003cbr\u003e   He put his hat on his head, went into the store, and announced to the clerk that he wished to purchase one of the puppets on display in the window.\u003cbr\u003e   “You cannot buy just one,” said the clerk. “They belong together.”\u003cbr\u003e   “I want the girl puppet only,” said Spelhorst.\u003cbr\u003e   “The puppets must be purchased together or not at all,” said the clerk, “for they are in \u003cbr\u003e a story.”\u003cbr\u003e   Spelhorst stared at the clerk.\u003cbr\u003e   Story? What did a story matter to him?\u003cbr\u003e   The door to the shop opened and closed. The puppets danced in the small wind, and the girl puppet twisted about suddenly so that she was facing the captain, looking at him.\u003cbr\u003e   Spelhorst closed his eyes and then opened them again. He said, “Very well. All of them.”\u003cbr\u003e   He took the puppets with him back to the room above the tailor shop.\u003cbr\u003e   He threw the king and the wolf and the owl and the boy into the trunk at the foot of his bed.\u003cbr\u003e   But the girl puppet Spelhorst propped up on the table so that he might look into her violet eyes.\u003cbr\u003e   He sat on the bed and stared at her. He said, “I am sorry. I am sorry, Annalise. I am sorry.” He put his head in his hands, and then he got up from the bed and sat down at the table and took up a pen and paper. He wrote for a long time.\u003cbr\u003e   When he was done, he folded the paper and put it in the trunk, and then the old man sat at the table and wept.\u003cbr\u003e   Outside the room, perched on the windowsill, the pigeons looked in at the sea captain and made noises of despair and disapproval. \u003cbr\u003e   It grew dark.\u003cbr\u003e   Spelhorst did not light the lamp.\u003cbr\u003e   He got into bed and cried himself to sleep as if he were a small child.","brand":"Candlewick","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46303487787237,"sku":"NP9781536216753","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781536216752.jpg?v=1730754460","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-norendy-talesisbn-9781536216753","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}