One Amazing Elephant by Linda Oatman High

Lily Pruitt, 12 almost 13 and already over 5 feet 7 inches tall and an asthmatic, has been living with her father in the Magic Mountain Campground in West Virginia. Her mother, Trullia Lee Pruitt, left them a number of years ago to return to the circus and her trapeze act. Lily’s grandparents are part of a small traveling circus, he is 7 feet tall and has an act called The Amazing Queen and her Best Friend Bill the Giant. Queenie Grace is a 9 foot 3 inch tall, 58 year old elephant, but has only been owned by Bill for 28 years. Before that, Queenie was owned by people who treated her cruelly.   And Bill is married to Violet, 4 feet 9 inches, who has an act of her own.

Lily has always been afraid of Queenie Grace, much to her grandfather’s unhappiness. More than anything, he would like them to get along. When Grandpa Bill dies suddenly, Lily travels to Gibtown, Florida, where the circus stays when not traveling, for his funeral. Over the course of time she is there, she meets a boy, Henry Jack, who is part of the circus, billed as the Alligator Boy because of a skin condition he was born with. She also meets her chain-smoking mother’s boyfriend, Mike, also a smoker. who dislikes Queen Grace and wants to get rid of her as quickly as possible. Until then, he puts her in chains, even though in Gibtown, animals are chained or caged, and then burns her with a cigarette. 

Slowly, and with the help of Henry Jack, Lily begins to overcome her fear of Queenie Grace, and even to feel rather protective of her. In fact, Henry Jack helps Lily overcome a lot of her fears and find strength within herself to try new things. In the end, Violet decides to send Queenie Grace to a elephant sanctuary, where there is a nice surprise awaiting her. And there is a nice surprise awaiting Lily in Gibtown, as well.

This was a well-written coming of age novel, alternately narrated by Lily and Queenie Grace, so readers get to see Lily’s transformation from both points of view. The descriptions are clear and easily envisioned; Trullia is distant to Lily, but not so distant that a mother-daughter reconciliation is impossible to imagine; Mike the smoker is just despicable; and Henry Jack is ultra sweet and kind. Lily, on the other hand, is unlikeable from the start. She seems to be consumed with self-pity which dissipates over the course of the story, but really goes on for too long to be a sympathetic character for me.

In the end, I really disliked this novel. I had so much trouble with the freak show element to it, and the idea that a 12 year-old boy would be put on display for having a skin disease that had killed his twin brother. But as Lily explains: “Not a lot of circuses still have ‘freak shows’ these days, but the Hass-Millard circus does.The ‘freaks’ are a big attraction for this little circus.”

The best part of the novel, for me, is when Queenie Grace discovers her surprise at the elephant sanctuary - keep tissues handy.

I was rather curious about Gibtown and found an article about it in The Guardian from 2015. It was written for adults, so I would be careful about sharing this with students, but it is informative.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an EARC received from Edelweiss Plus

Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley

When Grandpa Ephraim Tuttle was a young boy, he skipped school and, hearing the sounds of pipes and drums, he followed the music and found himself at a magical circus.  There, he saw many astounding things, but nothing compared to the wonderful round the world adventures the Man Who Bends Light sends him on.

But Ephraim was worried about his father, away fighting in a war, and just wants to see him again.  The Lightbender grants his wish and Ephraim is able to spend some time with his father once again.  As wonderful as seeing his dad is, Ephraim realizes that it is just an illusion and isn't real.

When the Lightbender talks to him after the show, Ephraim performs his own bit of magic - tying a knot he can make with his bootlace that even the great magician can't undo.  Realizing that this young boy understands the power and the limit of magic, he grants him a miracle, a miracle Ephraim has never used until now.

Fifth grader Micah Tuttle has listened to his Grandpa Ephraim's stories about his boyhood adventures at the centuries old Circus Mirandus all his life, but he never thought for one moment any of it was real.  At least not until Grandpa Ephraim becomes very ill.  Now on his deathbed, Grandpa Ephraim writes a letter to the Man Who Bends Light to call in that miracle he was promised - a letter sent via Ms. Chintzy, the grumbling parrot circus messenger.  Thinking the miracle may have something to do with Grandpa Ephraim's health, Micah decides he must figure out how to find Circus Mirandus and bring the Lightbender to his grandpa's bedside.

Of course, bringing the Lightbender home may be made more difficult because of the presence of magic-hating, Micah-disliking Great Aunt Gerturdis who has come to take care of Grandpa Ephraim, and who has virtually cut off Micah's contact with his grandpa.

Luckily, Micah has made a friend at school named Jenny Mendoza, a science-minded girl who has to be convinced that magic exists, but who is nevertheless totally impressed by Micah's own knot-tying skills that results in a very successful school project for the two of them.

Not sure how they would find the circus, one day Micah heard the call of the pipes and drums, he knows it is the same sound his Grandpa Ephraim had heard, because "the music that calls a person to magic is always the same."  Sure enough, Circus Mirandus has arrived.

But when the Lightbender refuses to honor his promise to Grandpa Ephraim, it is up to Micah to try to change his mind.  And along the way, Micah will uncover some family secrets that are tied to the circus, including the reason for Aunt Gertrudis's bitterness and her dislike of magic.

I don't like circuses at all and never read circus books, so how did I end up falling in love with Circus Mirandus.  Perhaps that's part of the magic of the novel.  I picked it up and didn't put it down till I had finished it and that almost never happens.  And the name - who could resist a title that translates into a circus to be amazed at.

I loved the whole premise of the story that sometimes the power of magic and illusion can eclipse the power of science and reality, but only if you believe in it.  And it's what makes Circus Mirandus so special, so magical.  To begin with, only those children who believe in magic can see it, and it caters to them.  It's purpose is "fighting to keep enchantment alive in the world" for the children.  And Cassie Beasley has succeeded in doing just that with this utterly enchanting novel.  And the story is only matched by her lovely, lyrical writing.

The characters are all well-fleshed out, their different personalities revealing where each has placed their  faith: Micah and Grandpa Ephraim have plaed their faith in magic, Jenny with her faith in verifiable facts and science, and Aunt Gertrudis with her faith in harsh reality.  Aunt Gertrudis will definitely conjured up memories of Miss Trunchbull from Roald Dahl's Matilda, acting as an outlet for all the reader's frustrations as Micah tries to help his grandpa, making it all that much easier to dislike her.

Circus Mirandus is an extraordinary coming of age debut novel about courage, faith, hope, family and friendship, but also about grief and loss.  It is a story not be to missed.
 
And, remember, when you hear drums and pipes, you know that the circus has come to town - just follow the music to find it.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was an ARC received from the publisher