The Hotel Balzaar : A wise and magical story that celebrates fairytales from the internationally bestselling author of THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX, perfect for age 8, 9, 10, 11

Author: DiCamillo, Kate

Fantasy & magical realism (Children's / Teenage)

Published on 1 January 2026 by Walker Books Ltd in the United Kingdom as part of 'The Norendy Tales' series.

Paperback | 160 pages
128 x 198 x 14 | 146g

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In a wise and magical follow-up to the critically acclaimed The Puppets of Spelhorst, Kate DiCamillo revisits the land of Norendy, where tales swirl within tales – and where 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 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 while dreaming of the return of her soldier father. One day, a mysterious countess with a parrot checks in, promising a story – in fact, seven stories in all. As the stories unfold, Marta begins to wonder: could the secret to her father’s disappearance lie in the countess’s tales?