Wednesday, March 6, 2024

The Puppets of Spelhorst.

DiCamillo, Kate. The Puppets of Spelhorst. 160p. ISBN 9781536216752.


Walking in town one day, an old salty captain saw five puppets in the window of a toy shop. There was a girl, a boy, a king, a wolf, and an owl. He immediately felt the need to purchase the girl puppet. When the owner told him he must buy all five, the captain relented and agreed. The girl puppet reminded him of a girl he had once been in love with. Placing these puppets in his trunk, the old captain soon died, and his puppets found their way to a family with young children.

The king always loved to order everyone else around, for what is a king supposed to do? The girl loved to sing, but she only knew one song. The boy knew he was destined to be a hero, for why else would he have a bow and a quiver filled with arrows? The wolf was very impressed with her sharp teeth, and she knew everyone should be scared of her. The owl was filled with wisdom, but longed to fly the skies. As the puppets discovered their new home, they also found new desires and developed new relationships and understandings with each other. Each of them realizes that they are part of a story, and despite their ups and downs together, they belong with each other. The two girls who now own the puppets craft a play they perform in front of their family. In this play, the puppets end up acting the story of a young man who is cursed by a wizard to lose the love of his life, and who looks for her the rest of his life, in a story that resembles that of the old sea captain.

Beautifully told, the story of the puppets resemble folk tales, with bigger than life characters who discover themselves during their adventures, even if they are only puppets. Wherever we found ourselves on the road of life, we can always trust that we will find friends along the road.

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