THE PUPPETS OF SPELHORST — Review

Thought for the Day:

“‘I don’t know where to start,’ one [writing student] will wail. Start with your childhood, I tell them. Plug your nose and jump in, and write down all your memories as truthfully as you can. Flannery O’Connor said that anyone who has survived childhood has enough material to write for the rest of his or her life. Maybe your childhood was grim and horrible, but grim and horrible is okay if it is well done. Don’t worry about doing it well yet, though. Just get it down.”

~ Anne LaMott ~

Gifts for My Writer Friends:

Naming characters is a fun and exciting part of writing fiction, but it isn’t always easy. HERE is a good article from Writer’s Digest by Elizabeth Sims with 7 Rules of Picking Names for Fictional Characters.

We all want our characters to be interesting. Catia Isabel Silva has a short but solid post HERE on A Writer’s Path called Characters Also Need a Soul: 5 Tips to Writing Interesting Characters.

Clothes make the man, as many great writers have said. Now we have some words of wisdom from Becca Puglisi, who knows a thing or two about writing, on that topic. Her post HERE on Writers in the Storm will help you Characterize with Clothing Choices.

Our weather has turned California cold. I know. It’s not like the winter some of you are having, but it’s our what we have. I really have to push myself out the door in the morning for my daily walk, but once I’m out there, I can enjoy our long autumn. Most of our trees have changed, but not quite all the way. We still have more brilliant colors to come, and I really do love walking, even if it is a little nippy. But once I’m in from my walk, I am not inspired to go out much unless I have to. That means I am doing more reading and writing. The publicist at Candlewick Press has been generous of late, and you will be hearing about some of their new books today and over the next weeks. On the writing side, I made a submission last week and am preparing the packet for another this week. And, maybe best of all, I have started a new picture book manuscript. This is a good time of year for me in a whole lot of ways. I hope you are having beautiful weather and a productive time.

In my package from Candlewick Press, I received two Kate DiCamillo books. One came out in October and one will come out in March. She is such a prolific writer. And every book of hers I read is so good! The two I read this week couldn’t be more different from each other. I am so in awe of Kate DiCamillo. It is such a pleasure to read her books. They always surprise me. THE PUPPETS OF SPELHORST is a wonderful surprise.

An ancient sea captain buys a trunk with a set of puppets — a girl, a boy, a wolf with very sharp teeth, a snowy owl, and a king. The captain props the girl puppet on his desk and talks to her while he writes a letter that he then puts in the trunk. The puppets talk to each other, and each has its own story and its own dreams. After the captain dies, the trunk and puppets are sold to the rag-and-bone man who sings a song as he sells his goods. The trunk is opened and a young man peers in. He buys the puppets, closes the trunk, and the puppets wonder what their next adventure will be. When the trunk is next opened, two little girls, Martha and Emma, appear above the puppets. Emma declares they will put on a play. Martha seems quite fascinated with the ferocious wolf. The wolf, who frequently reminds the other puppets she has very sharp teeth, is quite happy to be thought of as ferocious. The puppets are all propped up on the mantle piece of a blue room, and one thing after another terrible and frightening thing happens to the various puppets. They know their destiny is something great that will happen to them together, but they aren’t sure they will ever be together again!

When I first got this book, I assumed it was a chapter book, and maybe it is. It is short — 160 pages — and has a lot of brilliant illustrations throughout by Julie Morstad that will help to keep readers engaged. But it is so rich and layered, that I don’t believe emerging readers will quite get it. They will love it, but there is so much to it that I can only hope they will come back to it over and over through the years and find more on each reading. It’s that kind of a book. Of course, Kate DiCamillo’s deft touch and gorgeous writing will make this story (that feels much like a fairy tale) a favorite of most who read it. And people of all ages will love it. I know I did. And I know I will read it again and again and enjoy it each time. I didn’t mention the music that runs through the story, but it is there. I honestly can see this being turned into a musical on Broadway. Find yourself a copy. It is very much worth your time.

Please don’t forget to check for other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge’s blog HERE.