Welcome to Litsy!

In a wise and magical follow-up to The Puppets of Spelhorst, Kate DiCamillo revisits the land of Norendy, where tales swirl within tales�and every moment is a story in the making. At the Hotel Balzaar, Marta�s mother rises before the sun, puts on her uniform, and instructs Marta to roam as she will but quietly, invisibly�like a little mouse. While her mother cleans rooms, Marta slips down the back staircase to the grand lobby to chat with the bellman, study the painting of an angel�s wing over the fireplace, and watch a cat chase a mouse around the face of the grandfather clock, all the while 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�in fact, seven stories in all, each to be told in its proper order. As the stories unfold, Marta begins to wonder: could the secret to her father�s disappearance lie in the countess�s tales? Book two in a trio of novellas bound by place and mood�with elegant line art by J�lia Sard��The Hotel Balzaar masterfully juggles yearning and belief, shining light into every dark corner.