Song of the Circus
Thriller-writer Duncan, whose picture book I Walk at Night described a cat's nocturnal prowlings, raises a few hairs (not too many) in this high-spirited circus romp. Cartwheeling along to a familiar rhythm, hyperbolic verses introduce a trapeze artist and strongman, a little clown named Bop and his petite friend Gisselda, "who learned to crawl On canvas tarps, and to toss a ball To a Fat Baboon, and who took her naps On tattooed shoulders and spangled laps. For she is a Child of the Circus." Suddenly, the narrative veers in a dangerous direction: "Now don't get scared, butyou see that cage?" A turn of the page reveals a grouchy tiger "so mean and wild That he dreams of eating a Circus Child!" When a flat tire sends the bicycle clowns flying into midair, they set off a wild chain of events that ends with an elephant shattering the tiger's cage. The big cat races straight for Gisselda, "exactly the child that he longed to eat!" Bop interferes, and he and Gisselda bravely avert the threat, earning wild cheers; the audience "didn't know That the act wasn't part of the normal show." In a style that recalls Marjorie Priceman's work, Cundiff (Stoneheart) paints in a wild carnival palette. Her extravagant costumes and distorted sizes and shapes intensify the larger-than-life proportions of this big-top tale. Ages 3-7.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.