In a wise and magical follow-up to The Puppets of Spelhorst, Kate DiCamillo revisits the land of Norendy, where tales swirl within tales—and 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 little 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 the while dreaming of the return of her soldier father, who has gone missing. One day, a mysterious countess with a parrot checks in, promising a story—in fact, seven stories in all, each to be told in its proper order. As the stories unfold, Marta begins to wonder: could the secret to her father’s disappearance lie in the countess’s tales?
Book two in a trio of novellas bound by place and mood, The Hotel Balzaar masterfully juggles yearning and belief, shining light into every dark corner.
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Kate DiCamillo is an American author of children’s fiction and twice winner of the Newbery Medal. Several of her books made the New York Times bestsellers list. Her debut novel, the award-winning Because of Winn-Dixie, was made into a major motion picture, and her book The Tiger Rising was a finalist for the National Book Award. She is the US National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for 2014 to 2015, appointed by the Library of Congress.