Faith Elizabeth Hough
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Newsletter
  • Contact

Book to Share: The Puppets of Spelhorst, by Kate DiCamillo

10/29/2023

9 Comments

 
Picture
I remember writing a review years ago (can't track it down now) in which I said I'd read a grocery list if Kate DiCamillo wrote it. I stand by that sentiment. Kate DiCamillo has the ability to take the most basic, simple of stories and make it captivating.

I bring that up only because it was rather hard to pin down what is so wonderful about Kate's newest book, The Puppets of Spelhorst. The ostensible main characters of this original fairy tale are puppets, therefore they cannot make choices or—in themselves—move the action forward. They move from the hands of one person to another, hardly allowing the reader the pleasure of following any human character just as you start to really care about them. The story is simple. The entire drama unfolds in under 150 small, highly illustrated pages.

And yet… it's no grocery list. 

Kate DiCamillo's storytelling is incisive. With simple language and not a single wasted word, she gets to the heart of what it means to be human, what courage looks like, what beauty can do to us, what it means to be part of a story.  She masterfully weaves together the simple, passing tales of each of the humans the puppets encounter as the toys look for their own story, and only the reader can really see the deeper story, the deeper roles they play.

To borrow a quote from the book itself, the feeling I had the entire time reading it was, "It's all so beautiful… I wonder what will happen next."
​

Finally, I can't neglect to mention Julie Morstad's gorgeous illustrations. They complement and enhance the simplicity and beauty of the author's writing perfectly. A complete delight.
9 Comments

    About me

    Hi! I'm Faith. I blog about books and creativity, family and faith. Welcome!

    Archives

    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    January 2021

    Categories

    All
    Adult Fiction
    Art
    Art And Children
    Audio Books
    Author Interview
    Biography
    Book Lists
    Book Reviews
    Catholic
    Clean Adult Fiction
    Contemporary Fiction
    Fairy Tales
    Faith
    Graphic Novel
    Guest Post
    Historical Fiction
    Homeschooling
    Lu's Reviews
    Middle Grade
    Mystery
    My Writing
    Narrative Nonfiction
    Picture Book
    Product Review
    Reading Stack
    Scripture
    Series
    Summer Reading
    Throwback
    Vintage Books
    Word On Fire Spark
    Young Adult

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Newsletter
  • Contact