Blog Tour: The Bootlace Magician (Circus Mirandus Book 2) by Cassie Beasley

As we learned in the first book, once you have visited Circus Mirandus, you usually can't return. That's the rule. Mostly. But some lucky people do get to return, and for us, the lucky ones, the cost of the ticket is reading the book...oh, yes, and believing in magic.

Micah Tuttle, 11, returned and has been traveling with the Circus Mirandus for several months now, and living with his guardian, the Lightbender. Basically happy, living a peaceful life with the circus, Micah is still painfully missing his deceased grandpa Ephraim, and his best friend Jenny Mendoza back in Peal, and hoping to discover just what magic his knots can do. Luckily, Jenny is coming to visit Circus Mirandus for a day, armed with a chart to help Micah figure that out.

Micah has also been spending a lot of time in the menagerie tent, visiting Fish in his aquarium and feeding him knots full of memories. Ephraim Tuttle had used Fish so long ago to enter Circus Mirandus. Mr. Head, the circus manager, has also decided that Micah is just the person to care for an abandoned baby Unicorn named Terpsichore. But Micah knows that Unicorns didn't abandon their babies, no matter what and he is puzzled by what could have happened to Terp and his mother.

But even after Micah figures out what may have happened to Terp, it's treated like a long shot. Yet, when a sudden severe storm hits during Jenny's visit and lightning strikes the menagerie tent, it begins to look like someone is trying to hurt or destroy Circus Mirandus. And after finding some notebooks that his grandmother, Victoria Starling, had borrowed before she was banished from the circus, Micah has a pretty good idea what is happening, but why? Victoria had been called the Bird Woman, flying with a flock of birds that she controlled with a wordless song - until one night she destroyed the birds during a show, angry that the Lightbender would not let her achieve what she so desperately craved.

But when Victoria Starling attacks the circus again, it looks as though it's days are numbered, and now she wants to get Micah to help her get what she has always craved so badly - fame and glory. But how does Fish figure into her grand scheme?

I loved reading Circus Mirandus and was so happy to learn there would be a sequel. And it is every bit a good as the first book.  Cassie Beasley has once again created a magical world that just felt so familiar and welcoming. I sat and read until I was finished and then went through the book again, not wanting to once again say goodbye to these favorite characters, especially Micah.

Beasley really knows how to flesh out her characters, and even though they felt complete in the first book, they turn out to be even more complex here. Even Micah, just 11, has a true understanding and appreciation for the world he now lives in, but without a desire to abandon the world that Jenny lives in. And Jenny, the rational girl who needed to be convinced that magic existed, has become one of Micah's greatest champions and a great Circus Mirandus enthusiast. It was wonderful watching her excitement during her visit.

The Bootlace Magician does stand on its own, enough background information is provided, but why do that when you can have the joy of reading Circus Mirandus followed by this novel. And like that first novel, this is an extraordinary coming of age story about courage, faith, and the people who become our family, and a story that is not to be missed.

May the Circus Mirandus continue "to fight to keep enchantment alive" in the world for children. And remember, when you hear the drums and pipes, the circus has come to town and you know what to do.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was a ARC received from Friya at Penguin Random House 

🎩Reread Blog Tour: Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley with a Listicle of Favorite Quotes

Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley

Dial Books, 2015, 

Ladies and Gentlemen, and Children of all ages, 

Welcome to the Circus Mirandus Blog Tour, where we are once again celebrating this splendiferous book even as we anticipate its soon-to-be-released sequel, The Bootlace Magician, available on October 1, 2019.

Today, under the big top, are three rings for your entertainment pleasure:

In Ring One: A Publisher's Synopsis of Circus Mirandus

Do you believe in magic?
Micah Tuttle does.

Even though his awful Great-Aunt Gertrudis doesn't approve, Micah believes in the stories his dying Grandpa Ephraim tells him of the magical Circus Mirandus: the invisible tiger guarding the gates, the beautiful flying birdwoman, and the magician more powerful than any other - the Man Who Bends Light. Finally, Grandpa Ephraim offers proof. The Circus is real. And the Lightbender owes Ephraim a miracle. With his friend Jenny Mendoza in tow, Micah sets out to find the Circus and the man he believes will save his grandfather.

The only problem is, the Lightbender doesn't want to keep his promise. And now it's up to Micah to get the miracle he came for.

In Ring Two: Meet the author: Cassie Beasley

Cassie Beasley is from rural Georgia, where, when she's not writing, she helps out on the family pecan farm. She earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Circus Mirandus is her first novel. Follow her on Twitter @beasleywrites

In the Center Ring: A Listicle of Favorite Quotes

When my Kiddo was young, her explanation for all things she didn't understand yet was simply "It's magic!" These were all chosen for the image or emotion they evoke and are dedicated to you, Allison, who still believes in magic.

"It's important, when you first see magic, to recognize it. You don't often get a second chance." 

(pg 34)

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"Circus Mirandus was the sort of place that filled you up to the top of your head." 

(pg 69)

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(This one is my absolute favorite)

"The war had ended all at once and very calmly. It was as if, between one moment and the next, all the mothers of all the soldiers in the world had checked their clocks and realized that their children had been out playing for too long. The mothers set aside their laundry or their piecrusts or their welding torches, and they stepped out their front doors.

"Davey!" they called. "Klaus! Pierre! It's time to wash up for supper."

The soldiers shook hands with one another and wished one another well. Then they raced back to their mothers, or to their wives and sons."

(pg 114)

🎩

"Just because a magic is small doesn't mean it is unimportant," the Lightbender said. "Even the smallest magic can grow."

(pg 120)

🎩

"...when you try too hard to hold on to something, you break it...Sometimes, we need to let go so that other people can have their chance at the magic."

(pg 221)

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"...it was a ridiculous, amazing thing to do, and once in a while, it's good to be ridiculous and amazing."

(pg 262)

🎩

"Micah." said the Lightbender. "What do you think magic is?..He hooked a long finger through the bootlace, and he whispered in Micah's ear. "This is magic. And I, of all people, am in a position to know."

(pg267)

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As far as Mirandus Head was concerned, there had never been a more exasperating magical artifact than the Tuttle family bootlace."

(pg 272)

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"You never need an invitation to go home."

(pg 292)

 ComingAttraction:

The Bootlace Magician (Circus Mirandus #2) by Cassie Beasley
Dial Books, October 1, 2019, 416 pages

Micah Tuttle - magician in training - lives and works at Circus Mirandus alongside his guardian, the ancient and powerful Lightbender.

The circus is a place filled with dazzling fire shows, stubborn unicorns, and magicians from every corner of the world. And Micah is doing everything he can to prove he belongs there. When a dangerous enemy from the past threatens his new home, Micah will have to untangle the mystery of his own potent magic, and he'll have to do it fast. With trouble this deadly on its way, every magician will have to be ready to fight. Even the youngest.

Worst Witch Strikes Again by Jill Murphy Review and Series Giveaway

It's summer term at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches and Mildred Hubble has been allowed to return despite her unfortunate first year there.  Mildred is dreading this summer term, knowing that all sorts of mishaps could happen again, given how prone she is to accidents and messing things up.  And now, she is bound by promises to do better after the terrible report her parents had received from the school.

This term, a new girl named Enid Nightshade has joined Miss Cackle's and she has given Mildred the responsibility of showing Enid around the school for the next few days.  Mildred's teacher Miss Hardbroom is stunned by this decision, thinking her favorite student goody-two-shoes Ethel Hallow should have been chosen.  Even Mildred is a little surprised and not too happy about Miss Cackle's decision.

Neither is Mildred's best friend Maud Moonshine.  When she asks Mildred to hand Enid over to another girl and Mildred refuses, Maud walks off in a jealous huff, even though both girls think that Enid looks to be a pretty boring girl.

Boring, that is, until the next morning when Mildred discovers that instead of the permitted cat, Enid has a monkey in her room.  And that is just the beginning of accident-prone Mildred's summer term of chasing a runaway monkey, trips to Miss Cackle's office and a performance that even surprises Mildred and Enid at the end of term assembly.  There's even a good lesson on friendship for Maud.

But the biggest lesson of all is to not judge a book by its cover or the new girl at school by the way she looks.

This is the second fun book in the Worst Witch series, perfect for young readers ready to tackle chapter books, and too young for Harry Potter.

In fact, it is so much fun, that I am holding a HALLOWEEN inspired Giveaway, in which one lucky winner will receive a complete set of The Worst Witch series by Jill Murphy, books 1-6, courtesy of Candlewick Press.

The Rules of this Giveaway are pretty simple:

1- It will run from today until October 31, 2014 at 11:59 PM EDST
2- Follow Randomly Reading on Bloglovin'
3- Leave a comment related to The Worst Witch and a valid email address to reach you.
4- The winner has 48 hours to respond
5- This giveaway is open to residents of the United States and Canada
6- Allow a few weeks time for delivery.
7- Because your hostess is a certified dyslexic, and she has learned to keep things relatively simple,
    there will be one winner selected by Random.org

The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy

Mildred Hubble, 12, is a first year student at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches.  Though well-meaning and well liked by most of the other girls, Mildred always seems to be in trouble for something: "You could rely on Mildred to have her hat on back-to-front, or her bootlaces trailing along the floor.  She couldn't walk from one end of the corridor to the other without someone yelling at her, and nearly every night, she was writing lines or being kept in…(pg 3)  Mildred does have a best friend, Maud Moonshine, and a class enemy, Ethel Hallow.

This first book in the series begins with a very important event at Miss Cackle's Academy.  All the girls are about to receive their black kittens, an exciting tradition for first year students, and the girls are expected to train their kittens to sit on their broomsticks.  Mildred is the last to receive her kitten, but by then they have run out of black kitties and she receives a tabby instead.  

Naturally, Tabby is hard to train and Miss Hardbroom gives Mildred a hard time about it.  Ethel, overhearing this, can't resist saying something to Mildred, who gets mad and turns Ethel into a pig.  Turned back to a girl by Miss Hardbroom, Ethel tells Mildred she will be sorry for what she did.

Sure enough, a Halloween program is planned and Mildred's class is to present a program showing what they can do with their broomsticks.  But the day before Halloween, Miss Hardbroom notices that Mildred's broom is held together by scotch tape and tells Ethel to lend her her spare broom.  Ethel willingly does this, but not before she puts a spell on the broom.

The presentation is ruined by Mildred's wonky broom and Miss Cackle is beside herself.  That night, Mildred decides to take Tabby and run away.  She doesn't get far before she runs into a group of witches in the forest surround the school, and one of whom looks just like Miss Cackle.  Keeping out of sight, Mildred hears their plan to take over Miss Cackle's Academy.  

Mildred can't let that happen, but what to do?  Everyone is still so mad at her.

   

I first became aware of Mildred and Miss Cackle's Academy when my Kiddo was young.  The British TV show was one of our cable stations and my Kiddo was hooked immediately.  So, we found some second hand copies of the books and she read (devoured) them all.  The TV show pretty much stuck to the stories in the books, which for a young reader is nice.

The Worst Witch is being reprinted now, forty years after it first appeared in 1974 and I was curious to read it again, to see if it still holds up in the age of Harry Potter.  And, I am pleased to say it does.  It's also a British book, but aside from Miss Hardbroom being a form teacher, I don't think anything in the book will be confusing to American readers.  I am also happy to say that the original black and white illustrations done by author Jill Murphy that occur throughout the book, have been included, adding to the readers enjoyment of the story 

What is nice about The Worst Witch is that Mildred's woes are not so terrible, there is no dark lord to scare young readers, she is and remains just a nice girl and she always manages to unwittingly save the day.

The Worst Witch series are wonderfully fun chapter books for girls (I don't think boys would really be interested in it) who are chomping on the bit to read Harry Potter but are just not ready for it for whatever reason.

This book is recommended for readers age 7+

This book was an E-ARC received from NetGalley

What the Witch Left by Ruth Chew

One boring rainy afternoon, Katy and her friend Louise are hanging out in Katy's bedroom when Louise becomes curious about what is in the chest of drawers stored there.  The first three drawers yielded not really interesting, but the bottom, fourth drawer was locked and Katy, as explained to Louise, she was not allowed to open it.  The things in the bottom drawer belong to her mother's Aunt Martha, whom Katy has never met.  But, curiosity gets the best of the girls, and off they go off to fetch the key.

Inside they find a bunch of ordinary looking items - a mirror, a bathrobe, an old dented metal box with a fruitcake painted on it, a pair of boots and some flesh colored gloves.   But are they really ordinary?

When Katy put the gloves on, she notices that, oddly enough, she couldn't see them on her hands.  But before she had time to take them off and put them back in the draw, her piano teacher arrives.  Still wearing the gloves, Katy's piano playing goes better than usual, even her teacher is impressed.  Later, when Katy isn't wearing the gloves, her piano playing was just a bad as ever.  Likewise, without the gloves, Louise is just a girl who draws well, but when she wears the gloves, she becomes a masterful artist.

Concluding that the items in the drawer are truly magical, the best friends continue to be drawn to it, especially when they start getting perfect spelling tests while wearing the gloves.  All that sounds pretty good, but. needless to say, soon the gloves lead to all kinds of school problems for the girls, including pandemonium in the auditorium when Louse wears the bathrobe in a school play and all you can see of here is her head floating through the air.

Over Thanksgiving break, Katy and Louise decide to try out the boots.  Called Seven League Boots, the girls calculate that each step in these boots equals 21 miles.  So the girls decide to so south where it is warm for a day of swimming.  And sure enough, in no time they find themselves in Mexico, meeting a young girl named Pilar and her donkey.  Pilar and her grandmother weave place mats to sell in the market to tourists.  Wearing the magic gloves, Katy and Louise spend part of their day helping her weave her mats, and because Louise's artistic talents are enhanced by the gloves, she makes mats with an unusual design to them.

But when the girls return home to Brooklyn, they discover the gloves are missing and they must return to Mexico the next day.  They find the gloves and teach Pilar how to do the new place mat design, which have been a hit in the marketplace.

The girls have lots of adventures with the items in the bottom draw, until...well, you'll just have to read the book to find out.

I loved this slow-paced, magical story.  But, how could I not love a book that not only takes place in Brooklyn, but near Church Avenue, my old stomping ground.   I do, however, think What the Witch Left is a nice companion chapter book for kids who are just starting to get into Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Tree House series.   And, in a day and age when kids can't wait to read books like Harry Potter, it is a perfect introduction to books about magical worlds and fantasy and to spark the imaginations of young readers and prepare the way for the kind of magical world Harry lives in.

The story is well-written, and there are no real scary bits in it.  I did find that What the Witch Left held up very well over time, although I don't think children go out to play without supervision any more quite the way that they do in this book.  Given that the book was published about 40 years ago, it might be a nice book to read with a parent or grandparent who has fond memories of reading it when they were young.

One nice thing worth mentioning: the dustcover illustration has been redone for this new edition, but underneath the DJ is the original illustration from the 1973 edition of What the Witch Left, seen here

This book is recommended for readers age 7-10
This book was borrowed from the NYPL