Lost Evangeline

The Norendy Tales

by Kate DiCamillo, Sophie Blackall (Illustrator)

Two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo reunites with two-time Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall in an original fairy tale set in the world of The Puppets of Spelhorst and The Hotel Balzaar.

When a shoemaker discovers a tiny girl (as small as a mouse!) in his shop, he takes her in, names her Evangeline, and raises her as his own. The shoemaker’s wife, however, fears that Evangeline has bewitched her husband, so when an opportunity arises to rid herself of the girl, she takes it. Evangeline finds herself far from her adopted father and her home, a tiny girl lost in the wide world. But she is brave, and she is resourceful, and with the help of those she meets on her journey—including a disdainful and self-satisfied cat—she may just find her way again. Return to the magical land of Norendy in this third original fairy tale by renowned storyteller Kate DiCamillo, perfect for savoring alone or for reading aloud with someone you love. Graced with exquisite black-and-white illustrations by Sophie Blackall, this timeless story of a girl and her father will make you believe in the impossible.

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Adventure, Fairy Tales, Juvenile

160 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2025

About the author

Kate DiCamillo, the newly named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for 2014–2015, says about stories, “When we read together, we connect. Together, we see the world. Together, we see one another.” Born in Philadelphia, the author lives in Minneapolis, where she faithfully writes two pages a day, five days a week.

Kate DiCamillo's own journey is something of a dream come true. After moving to Minnesota from Florida in her twenties, homesickness and a bitter winter helped inspire Because of Winn-Dixie - her first published novel, which, remarkably, became a runaway bestseller and snapped up a Newbery Honor. "After the Newbery committee called me, I spent the whole day walking into walls," she says. "I was stunned. And very, very happy."

Her second novel, The Tiger Rising, went on to become a National Book Award Finalist. Since then, the master storyteller has written for a wide range of ages, including two comical early-chapter-book series - Mercy Watson, which stars a "porcine wonder" with an obsession for buttered toast, and Bink & Gollie, which celebrates the tall and short of a marvelous friendship - as well as a luminous holiday picture book, Great Joy.

Her latest novel, Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, won the 2014 Newbery Medal. It was released in fall 2013 to great acclaim, including five starred reviews, and was an instant New York Times bestseller. Flora & Ulysses is a laugh-out-loud story filled with eccentric, endearing characters and featuring an exciting new format - a novel interspersed with comic-style graphic sequences and full-page illustrations, all rendered in black and white by up-and-coming artist K. G. Campbell. It was a 2013 Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner and was chosen by Amazon, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Common Sense Media as a Best Book of the Year.

Reviews

[Carolyn Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t express the pure joy I feel when Kate DiCamillo writes a new story! She has been, and remains to be, one of my most beloved authors.

Kate DiCamillo captures the beauty, wonder, and hardships of life in such an honest way. Her love for the world, and for storytelling, is expressed clearly and eloquently in each and every one of her books.

Her tales are timeless and universal. Like the sun, they light our lives with brilliant golden rays.

[Janssen]

A little strange but charming

[Kim Novak (The Reading Rx) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like this is a magical hodgepodge of Thumbelina, Pinocchio, and Alice in Wonderland to the tune of a sea shanty. Literary witchcraft I tell you.

[imogen · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute and dark as heck as per usual

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A shoemaker dreams of the sea, but in his daily life he finds a different kind of treasure: a small girl, curled up and tucked into the squared-toe boot of a pair dropped off at his shop. As their bond grows, they share dreams of the sea — dreams that stir old longing in him. His wife, feeling left behind, grows jealous and afraid that those dreams may one day carry him away.

This modern parable explores marriage, longing, and the ache of lost dreams — dreams that take shape in the form of a girl who sings like an angel. When she disappears, the shoemaker sets out across the seas to find her — as she searches for him in turn.

It almost feels unfair to pair two artists as masterful as Kate DiCamillo and Sophie Blackall, but they are truly brilliant together. The first two acts of the story are gorgeously written — lyrical, modern-gothic, with an echo of *The Wolves of Willoughby Chase* in tone. However, I found the final section (the coda) lacking. It felt rushed and unbalanced compared to the careful pacing of the earlier parts, and it left too much unresolved — particularly for a young reader. The ending doesn’t quite land, especially for those who crave a sense of closure.

That said, this is a remarkable book in atmosphere and tone, and I loved the quiet magic of its world — I just wish the final pages had given the story the resolution it deserved.

Thank you to Edelweiss and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A shoemaker finds a tiny baby hidden in a shoe, and the little girl grows up to be as small as a mouse. He names her Evangeline after a beautiful ship, and the two dream of going to sea someday. The shoemaker's wife thinks Evangeline's small size is a sign of bewitchment, and resents her husband's love for his adopted daughter. She sells Evangeline for a sack of money, but Evangeline escapes and searches for her father. Along the way, Evangeline gets help from a reluctant cat and a scared boy, but she finds the courage and resilience to inspire them to join her in her adventures.

I really liked Evangeline's character! She is spunky and brave in the face of huge odds. She never gives up, and she believes the best of people, hoping to inspire them to see their own possibilities. I love a good under-dog story, and Evangeline has that tenacious hope that holds on in the darkness until the day dawns again.

The story is told with a lovely old-fashioned style that is quite elegant in its brevity. Every word fits exactly where it should, and no words are wasted. The result is a powerful writing style that tugs at your emotions!

I loved the pretty illustrations through the book which really bring forward the emotional pathos of the story. The artwork makes this story truly special!
This chapter book is perfect for young readers ages 7-10 who are reading on their own, but not ready for lengthy books yet.

Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review.

[Sam Lofgran · Rating 5 out of 5]

a very bold claim to make, but this is perhaps my favorite kate dicamillo?? it was enchanting yet sad yet heartwarming and clever and funny and original yet familiar and truly perfect beyond belief in a way that only middle grade books can be. I shall softly weep every time I think about this book for the rest of time

[DaNae · Rating 4 out of 5]

A shoemaker and his small daughter, who can fit in the palm of her father’s hand, long for the adventure of the sea. It is worth the loss to get there?

I love moving through this magical, bittersweet world DiCamillo has created. The small glimpses of humanity shine through, even in a self-centered marmalade cat.

The afterward is in this book is particularly moving.

[Lyon.Brit.andthebookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Report: Lost Evangeline

My Thoughts: Kate DiCamillo has done it again ✨Lost Evangeline is a magical new addition to the Norendy tales and I was completely swept away. When a shoemaker discovers a girl no bigger than a mouse 🐭 and names her Evangeline…my heart melted instantly. The bond between them is tender and true 💕and the story unfolds like a timeless fairytale complete with danger…wonder and even a perfectly grumpy cat 🐈Evangeline is brave…clever and impossible not to root for. Every page made me feel like I was right there following her on this brave little journey. DiCamillo’s storytelling + Sophie Blackall’s enchanting illustrations 🖤 = pure bookish magic. This one begs to be read aloud, savored slowly and treasured ✨📖

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[Barb Middleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

She writes for children but speaks to the adult reader as well. This fairy tale of a girl the size of a thumb is about her finding an adoptive father and mother, except the mother is afraid of her. The girl, Evangeline becomes lost and tries to get home with the help of a cat. While themes of loss, acceptance, and family are obvious for young readers, the adult might see the father’s lost dreams, the predator character, and desire for love on a deeper level. Dicamillo is one of my favorite authors!

[Cris · Rating 5 out of 5]

review coming soon

[Leonard Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kate DiCamillo and Ann Patchett did a joint Library of Congress event (it’s on YouTube) in which Patchett, kinda outta nowhere, calls DiCamillo the E.B. White of our generation. I don’t know—this is more Thumbelina than Stuart Little, and I think one could make a better argument that DiCamillo is our Hans Christian Andersen. DiCamillo might even know it, as she places the lantern in a small town in Denmark at the very end of the book. Or maybe she is equally striving to be the child’s Psalmist. They that go down to the sea in ships and all. Or, there go the ships: there is that Leviathan. (Evangeline had seen it in her mind.) There is something of psalmody in her shanty, “O, the world is large, so mind how you sail, sir. The waters are deep sir. You must mind how you sail. These waters will swallow you whole, sir.”

The second half is very different from the first. I wanted the first half never to stop—I think it’s arguably the greatest thing DiCamillo has ever written—but the second does make the book stranger and uncanny and so may have been necessary.

[Libby Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story of a small girl the size of a thimble who is separated tragically from her father. She befriends a marmalade-colored cat and a young tailor on her journey to find her father at sea.

We love the dream team of Kate DiCamillo and Sophie Blackall. Their work complements each other’s creativity so well.

This had all the whimsy and heartbreak of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. The ending was not as satisfying as we’d hoped but I know it will be one we come back to again.

The characters are perfectly flawed which leaves lots of food for thought.

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of beautiful, kind of heartbreaking.
Also part of me feels like this was too short to really mean anything.I don't know.Yeah, there were just a lot of moving parts, and I just feel like this story had so much more to offer if it was like a two hundred fifty page book.I don't know how to feel about it.So that's why I rated it middle of the road.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate DiCamillo is an enchantress. Her words instantly transport the reader into whatever world she wishes you to inhabit. I somehow have missed the other Norendy tales, but this one is beautiful. From the start the gentle writing rhythm takes us into a fairytale world where anything is possible. The style reminded me of The Tale of Despereaux, my first DiCamillo book read, oh so many years ago. In fact, I kind of expected Despereaux to turn up each time I turned the page.

The beginning of this book is exquisite, I loved the shoe maker and Evangeline, and up until shortly after Evangeline meets the cat, it couldn't be faulted. Shortly after Evangeline and the cat begin their adventures, however, the story began to fall a little flat, and I certainly wasn't expecting the ending that I got. I personally didn't find it satisfying (the shoe maker!), but can still see how it fits. This is what dropped my rating to a 4, whereas the first half or more was a 5 star read.

Will have to ensure I visit Norendy again (and maybe return to Despereaux too).

[Cindy Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Thumbelina inspired tale follows a tiny girl on harrowing adventures in her little village. Evangeline, despite her small size, has big dreams of traveling the high seas. Her adoptive father shares her dreams, and has inspired a love of all things related to the sea in Evangeline. The only problem is her adoptive mother - she is convinced that Evangeline is bewitched and causes all sorts of trouble as a result. Illustrated by Sophie Blackall (a favorite among illustrators), this small tale will keep you entertained - and maybe inspire you to take your own adventure. Evangeline may be small, but she is mighty - she thinks quickly on her feet and she is not afraid of much in this world.

I always love how I become completely immersed in DiCamillo's stories, and no matter how short they are, they feel like epic tales. I can't wait to read the next short tale set in this fictional locale of Norendy.

[Helen Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a specific kind of magic that only Kate DiCamillo can weave. LOST EVANGELINE feels like a fairy tale that’s been here forever. It’s bittersweet and completely mesmerizing.

What I loved most was the 'glittery thread' of a song - you can actually see it in the illustrations - that keeps the father and daughter connected even when they are worlds apart.

And there’s a cat involved! If you’re a recent reader, like I am, of POCkET BEAR and THE WINTER OF THE DOLLHOUSE and know Zephyrina and Flosshilde respectively, you will like meeting this cat,

“She stood up straighter. She said, “I am not a morsel. I’m Evangeline. What is your name?”
“My name?” said the cat. “What use would I have for a name? I am myself. And that’s the end of that discussion.”

The ending is beautifully ambiguous, I think it’s up to the reader to decide so I feel that I’m not spoiling it by saying - in my version of the story Evangeline and her father absolutely do find each other in the end. Even if they never share a page together again, I know they’re both looking at the same stars from the same ocean.

I loved this story. I love the gilt edges and illustrations in the book. A must-read for anyone who still believes - or wants to believe - in the impossible.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate DiCamillo’s books hit that tender spot between sadness and sweetness. This book is no different. A miniature child, very like Thumbelina, transforms the life of a shoemaker by her unlooked-for arrival. When she goes missing, the unspooling of two stories – hers and her shoemaker father’s – begins. The story does not end as most readers would wish, and this is something I often find with DiCamillo’s books. Odd and intentional sorrows linger. True, they are tempered by a warmth that I think is supposed to satisfy, but the sad mood still haunts. I liked this book, and so did my kids, but I do wish a fairy tale style story would have a bit more of a fairy tale ending.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adorable, sweet little original fairy tale about a girl as small as a mouse that finds home and then loses it, and her adventures to return home again.

This was the perfect little palate cleanser I needed!

[Heidi Burkhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not for me.

[Jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story of the lure of the sea, a father’s love for his tiny daughter, and how songs connect us, no matter the time and distance.

[Meggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another lovely, lovely tale by the wonderful Kate DiCamallo. It was a special joy to read aloud to my four year old who “loved that one.”

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantasy and Myth
Illustrated by Sophie Blackall
"I am clever, courageous, and kind." Evangeline says this over and over to herself
as she is trapped in a bird cage.

[Siena Hesselink · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book a lot!!!!!!!!!!!! I especially like it because my hip hop teacher was named Evangeline. I also loved the views of the sea!!!!!!!! Her furniture is so cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Abby]

Cute, fun, wholesome, a little weird!

[Janet L Boyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to live in Norendy. ♥️♥️♥️

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story gave me warm and fuzzies, and I love the illustrations.

[YSBR · Rating 5 out of 5]

A shoemaker, who always wanted to be a sailor, finds a tiny girl in the toe of a boot.  Despite his wife’s lack of maternal instinct, he adopts the little one and names her Evangeline. They become inseparable, with Evangeline spending her days on her father’s workbench and hiding whenever customers come, and riding in his pocket to go to town and look at the sea. Under her father’s tutelage, Evangeline learns of the lore and the lure of the sea and becomes a gifted singer. The shoemaker’s jealous wife takes it upon herself to sell little Evangeline to a rich old woman, at whose home she meets a haughty marmalade cat.  The cat reluctantly agrees to help her escape, in hopes of seeing the sea, but when they return to the shoemaker’s home it is clear that he has left in search of Evangeline.  She parts company with the cat, who sets out to seek out nautical adventure, leaving Evangeline lost and alone, but still singing.  Unfortunately, her voice draws the attention of Stumphaulf, a cruel man who owns a 'traveling curiosity show,' and he captures her in a butterfly net.  The cat, who witnesses that scene, encounters the bereft father, and somehow conveys that the loss of the little girl means that the shoemaker can now fulfill his childhood dream.  Both cat and man embark on a ship, while the captive Evangeline convinces Strumphaulf’s tailor to help her escape.  In a bittersweet final chapter entitled “Coda,” the intertwined yet separate fates of the father and daughter are revealed.  

This poignant tale could only come from the imagination of Kate DiCamillo.  Although it features classical, archetypal characters, it also carries a modern sensibility, such as when Evangeline, in her first abduction, thinks “this… is what becomes of those of us who are feared because we are different.”  The “courageous, clever, and kind” Evangeline uses the power of storytelling and song - sometimes sharing her gifts, sometimes withholding them - to make her way in the world despite so many obstacles, but it is love that drives her.  The language is descriptive, somewhat formal, and rich in vocabulary, but that will not be a deterrent for most readers who will delight in the idea of a tiny girl, the size of a mouse, and her adventures.  The story is told in two books, each divided up into short chapters, and highlighted by grayscale illustrations (done with ‘real and digital pencils’), which have a folk-art aesthetic. Sophie Blackall presents key moments in intricate detail, using a variety of vantage points and perspectives, which will help readers understand the scale of tiny, lost Evangeline in contrast to the world around her. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Mark Buxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

What worked:
The author is a master storyteller, and readers can imagine hearing the narrator’s voice. The tiny girl, Evangeline, may remind them of Hans Christian Anderson’s Thumbelina. The simple, heartfelt story features rhythmic lines and repetition that almost sound like the narrator is reciting a poem. Evangeline’s special talent is singing, and the lyrics of her song often evoke feelings of love and wonder. Evangeline’s father has always wanted to sail the seas, and they dream of future adventures aboard a fine ship.
Fairy tales often feature character flaws, and the cobbler’s wife suffers from greed, jealousy, and fear. She worries that her husband has been bewitched, so she never accepts Evangeline as a member of the family. In contrast, the cobbler immediately feels a strong affection for Evangeline, and they quickly form a close, loving bond. Their affection for each other permeates the story, and their separation leaves readers with hope that they’ll eventually be reunited. Minor characters create conflict or assistance, and the cat has an especially memorable personality. Evangeline’s kindness will evoke new, positive emotions in the self-centered cat.
What didn’t work as well:
The plot’s resolution may not satisfy readers, as it leaves much to the imagination. There isn’t a clear happy-ever-after ending, but there is a feeling of wonder and hope.
The final verdict:
The author’s writing style consistently delivers engaging, poignant stories, and this book is no exception. The sweet relationship between father and daughter is sure to tug on heartstrings, and I recommend you try this book for yourself.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lost Evangeline is the third book in the Norendy tales, which includes The Puppets of Spellhorst and The Hotel Balzaar. It's a story filled with wonder, love, dreams and determination. Evangeline is a very resourceful and brave young girl. Not only does she sneak away at night, she's going out into the dark and unknown. And who does she encounter first but a "huge, marmalade colored cat." Yikes! Evangeline has many adventures while searching for her father and is put into quite a few precarious situations. At one point she is even imprisoned in a cage by an unscrupulous man who wants her to perform in his oddities and curiosity show. Yet, she never seems to get down during these moments. Instead she begins to tell stories and sings to the people and animals that she encounters, emboldening them to overcome their own fears or misgivings, and to search out their own dreams. The CODA finds Evangeline and the shoemaker sailing upon separate ships, which felt incomplete to me. It made me sad but also hopeful with them both having lit lamps at their side. As if they'd search for each other forever. The story includes wonderful black and white illustrations by Sophie Blackall. Read this if you enjoy Kate DiCamillo's books or if you're looking for a unique fairytale.