Module 5: Splendors and Glooms

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz

Book Summary:

It is Clara Wintermute’s birthday and she is excited to have the puppet master Grisini come perform at her party. She befriends Grisini’s assistants, Lizzie Rose and Parsefall. However, soon after the birthday performance Clara disappears, and many believe the fault lies with Grisini himself. Lizzie Rose and Parsefall find out some disconcerting information about Grisini while trying to find Clara. Fearing for their own safety, they leave London hoping to begin a new life with some help from a friendly stranger. Little do they know that the friendly stranger has plans of her own, plans to free herself but ensnare Lizzie Rose and Parsefall.

APA Reference of Book:

Schlitz, L.A. (2012). Splendors and Glooms. York, PA: Candlewick Press.

Impressions:

Splendors and Glooms has a very dark and mysterious tone running throughout. When I first read the description for this book I could not wait to read it. However, when I actually started reading it, I could not really get into the story. Some parts seemed to drag along for me. I did become more interested towards the second half of the book, eager to find out how things would end. The characters are well developed and you hope that everything turns out well in the end for them. Clara is living in the shadows of her family’s grief for her dead siblings. She cannot help but feel guilty and that she should have died with them. Many children will be able to relate, whether they have lost a family member or just feel like they are living in their sibling’s shadow. Lizzie Rose and Parsefall are living in tough conditions at the mercy of Grisini. Neither of them chose to live this way, but they are doing what they need to do to survive. This a fantasy story with the themes of good versus evil and magic. Some parts are a little creepy for a children’s story, like when Madama or Cassandra uses Magic against Grisini. I would not recommend it for younger readers. I think it is better suited for teens. It deals with grief, magic, overcoming one’s circumstances, and courage. I think overall though it is an interesting story that many readers will love.

Professional Review:

“This is Splendors and Glooms of course, by Newbery-winning author Laura Amy Schlitz.  It is surely “highly anticipated”.  I find it daring: Schlitz has firmly chosen a pacing, voice, and structure to suit her story and characters.  It unwinds slowly and circuitously, as if in homage to Dickens’ serial novels.  It is not “shaped” like the kind of novel many of us expect to be written for children today.   But its meandering tone allows her to set scenes so vivid you’d swear you’d been transformed into a puppet in her stage.   Allows her characters to develop intricate quirks and nuances that serve the final development.   Would Parsefall have been able to fill the role he does if we didn’t understand completely his individually crafted moral view of the world, and his reliance on the artistry of puppetry to feed his soul?  Would Clara have been able to be a sympathetic heroine in her horrible visage if we didn’t come to an understanding along with her of the dysfunction of her family? And the story stays true to itself to the end; it is a happy ending for the protagonists, but not one of a post-Freudian 21st century children’s novel.   Happy here means money, food, friends, and thus: joy.

No story is perfect. I am sure there are moments within this novel that were thinner than others. (Of all the characters, we are never allowed sympathy for Grisini.  Even Clara’s father gets the tinniest bit, but not our evil mustache-twirler.  Perhaps the story needed one solidly bad bad guy, but it’s the one thing that felt slightly off-kilter to me.)  But by giving readers so much in the form she did, Schlitz allows herself and her readers room for all of it, and there is so much “real” here that anything else fades away.  For the reader who appreciates the length and pacing of this story, it becomes an incredible buffet, a constantly evolving landscape of words and scenes and emotions and action to savor. It addresses every one of the Newbery Criteria with writing of a quality and individuality we’ve rarely seen, making it–to my mind–truly distinguished.”

Lindsay, N. (2012). Splendors and glooms: Nina’s take [Review of the book Splendors and Glooms, by L.A. Schlitz]. School Library Journal, Retrieved from http://blogs.slj.com/heavymedal/2012/09/24/splendors-and-glooms-ninas-take/

Library Uses:

For a library display, you could display the history of puppets. You could have images of different kinds of puppets and how they have changed over time. You could also include any books from your collection about puppets, including Splendors and Glooms. For a library event, you could have a puppet show come and do a performance. Since this book is geared for a little bit older readers, you would want to have a show that is a little more advanced.