This is the first book in "The Norendy Tales" series by Kate DiCamillo. The Puppets of Spelhorst is a wonderful story filled with hope, adventure, wisdom, courage and love. Five puppets: a king, an owl, a boy, a girl, and a wolf are "in a story together" that starts with their purchase from a toy shop by an old, broken-hearted sea captain named Spelhorst.
Their story continues as they make their way to the home of two precocious little girls who enjoy them as toys and perform a play. The puppets realize their full potential in an unexpected twist that leaves the reader satisfied and excited for making the most of the great, wide world. This books is utterly charming and I cannot wait for the second book in the series, The Hotel Balzaar, which will be published later this fall. In The Hotel Balzaar, a young girl whose mother works as a maid at the hotel quietly and invisibly explores her surroundings, dreaming and wondering about the disappearance of her soldier father.