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291 pp.
| Penguin/Razorbill
| July, 2019
|
TradeISBN 978-0-451-48080-4$17.99
(2)
YA
In 1965, sixteen-year-old Victoria runs away with the VanDrexel traveling circus. Fifty years later finds Victoria training her talented teenage granddaughter, Callie VanDrexel, on the tightrope. Then Victoria dies unexpectedly; Callie's mother moves to Florida, dragging a sullen, grieving Callie with her. Alternating chapters follow plucky Victoria's introduction to life in the circus and Callie's introduction to life without it. This multigenerational story speaks compellingly of the power of family.
105 pp.
| Random
| April, 2017
|
TradeISBN 978-0-553-49751-9$14.99
|
PaperISBN 978-0-553-49754-0$5.99
|
EbookISBN 978-0-553-49753-3
(3)
1-3
Stepping Stone: Louise Trapeze series.
Illustrated by
Brigette Barrager.
Seven-year-old circus performer Louise Trapeze has lost her polka-dot sandals and her light-up hula hoop, but she's determined not to lose her tooth as well. Louise--in her guileless Junie B. Jones–esque narration--faces her fears and finds her lost belongings with help from her friends. This fourth installment of the effervescent series includes orange-accented line drawings that add to the festive atmosphere.
(4)
4-6
Survivors series.
Suspenseful and fraught with danger, the third-person narration alternates between orphaned Maximo (circus elephant handler in training) and equilibrist Jodi. When their circus train wrecks in rural Kansas, both children face challenges: Jodi's fear of heights since her mother's crippling accident, and Max's inexperience with animals. Details of circus life are incorporated throughout; unfortunately, this formulaic historical-fiction series lacks contextual back matter.
103 pp.
| Random
| September, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-0-553-49747-2$14.99
|
PaperISBN 978-0-553-49750-2$5.99
|
EbookISBN 978-0-553-49749-6
(3)
1-3
Stepping Stone series.
Illustrated by
Brigette Barrager.
In the third Louise Trapeze book, the seven-year-old tightrope performer overhears whispers about sales being down, so she and friends brainstorm a new act to save the circus. Louise's childlike, Junie B. Jones–style diction has enough sophistication to avoid cutesiness, and her predicament is lightly handled and smoothly resolved. Whimsical blue-accented line drawings capture the madcap action at the Sweet Potato Circus.
40 pp.
| Candlewick
| April, 2016
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7636-6823-5$17.99
(2)
K-3
In 1859, Jean François Gravelet--the Great Blondin--was the world's greatest tightrope walker; Niagara Falls called to him. Tavares's straightforward telling details all the drama of Blondin's multiple crossings, which drew huge crowds...at first, then the spectacle lost its appeal. Tavares's arresting illustrations movingly depict the Falls. An author's note rounds out this sure-footed offering. Bib.
Reviewer: Sam Bloom
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2016
326 pp.
| Candlewick
| March, 2015
|
TradeISBN 978-0-7636-7310-9$17.99
(1)
YA
This brilliant novel follows Dom, a working-class boy in 1960s northern England, from ages five to seventeen. Dom forges his own values; succumbs to the lure of thug Vincent; falls in love with childhood pal Holly; discovers himself as a writer; and learns to walk a tightrope both literal and figurative. It's all unsettling emotion as Almond limns the nature of joy and rage.
Reviewer: Sarah Ellis
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2015
332 pp.
| Simon
| April, 2014
|
TradeISBN 978-1-4424-7288-4$16.99
|
EbookISBN 978-1-4424-7290-7
(2)
4-6
Will's father is driving the Boundless, the longest train ever, on her maiden voyage. After a series of adventures (involving a sasquatch and a murder), Will finds himself stranded in the caboose, where, with the help of a cute tightrope walker, he dodges a nefarious villain. The third-person present-tense narrative creates suspense as the well-drawn characters travel through an alternate-universe Canadian wilderness.
Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
May, 2014
233 pp.
| McElderry
| April, 2004
|
TradeISBN 0-689-84875-7$$16.95
(4)
YA
Twelve-year-old June walks a tightrope as part of her unscrupulous father's revival show. June's faith, though, is more pantheistic than fire and brimstone. Biblical heroes, fairy-tale characters, and sideshow performers all stride through June's narrative. The abrupt happy ending is at odds with the grim Depression-era realities of the rest of the novel.
(1)
K-3
Is this another September 11 book? No--and yes. In 1974, Philippe Petit, the French street performer and high-wire walker, couldn't resist the temptation to dance between the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Gerstein pulls the reader into the story with a conversational style extended by playful pen and paint illustrations. Like Petit, Gerstein conceals much careful planning behind an obvious enjoyment of his subject.
Reviewer: Lolly Robinson
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2003
32 pp.
| Putnam
| October, 2000
|
TradeISBN 0-399-23348-2$$15.99
(4)
K-3
Mirette and Bellini are off to America where they will attempt to cross Niagara Falls by high wire. While aboard the SS Magnifique, Mirette befriends an orphaned Polish boy who is traveling alone to New York. The boy joins Mirette and Bellini and ends up exposing the villainy of a high-wire competitor. The larger-than-life story works out just a bit too neatly, but it's marked by heroism and dramatic illustrations.