  | Hotel Balzaar (Norendy Tales) Author: DiCamillo, Kate | |
| Price: $23.08 | ||
Summary:
At the Hotel Balzaar, Marta is 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. As the stories unfold, Marta wonders if the secret to her father's disappearance lie in the countess's tales? Follow-up to Puppets of Spelhorst.
| Illustrator: | Sarda, Julia |
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: MG Reading Level: 4.50 Points: 2.0 Quiz: 551439 |
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews (09/15/24)
School Library Journal (00/09/24)
Booklist (+) (10/15/24)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/10/24)
The Hornbook (00/09/24)
Full Text Reviews:
Booklist - 10/15/2024 *Starred Review* DiCamillo adds a second title to her Norendy Tales chapter-book series with this quietly magical story of Marta, who lives with her mother in the attic of the Hotel Balzaar. Her mother, a maid there, reminds the young girl every morning to be quiet as a mouse as she moves about the hotel. Marta dutifully obeys until, one morning, a dramatically attired older woman arrives with a green parrot perched on her shoulder. The woman (a countess!) notices Marta and invites the girl to come to her room. Marta can’t resist the countess’ entreaty and finds herself audience to a series of tales, doled out on consecutive days. A flurry of questions ignites in Marta, always batted away by the countess: “In the end, it doesn’t matter. What matters is the story. What matters, you see, is that the story gets told.” Any reader of DiCamillo knows she adores a story about storytelling, and here she settles into her theme with the ease of one who’s mastered her trade. The countess’ stories are flecked with details that feel plucked from Marta’s own life, specifically the disappearance of her soldier father, and the book’s big draw is seeing how DiCamillo brings these seemingly disparate threads into a unified narrative. Stylized line drawings by Sardà add just the right ambiance to this worthy stand-alone companion to The Puppets of Spelhorst (2023). - Copyright 2024 Booklist.
