It may seem strange but I'm often enamored with circus books. There is something so magical about their brand of community and I just adore a peek inside. One of my favorite movies in high school was Big Fish (which I've been wanting to rewatch for years) and I don't see my love for circus books going away any time soon!
🎪 Emma's Circus (secular, picture book, fiction)... This picture book is just cute, about a little girl who's a bit "too little" to help out with big family tasks so puts on a circus for her family instead! I like quite a few Candace Fleming books.
🎪 Extraordinary Jane (secular, picture book, fiction)... This picture book was written and illustrated by the creator of our beloved Bernice Gets Carried Away. In this one, which is very short and simple, a cute little circus dog learns that just being you is enough.
🎪 The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus (Christian, adult, time slip fiction)*... I just finished this grownup Christian fiction and I'm so glad I got to read it! The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus is a Wisconsin-based timeslip about a serial killer, a young woman connected to the circus in 1928, and a modern day single mother who is battling an autoimmune disease while dealing with the new (and possibly haunted?!) property she just purchased. There was actually even more going on in this one (including romance... It's billed as romantic suspense) but it somehow never felt like too much. It took me over 100 pages to really get interested in the 1920s character, Pippa, but I was very much interested after that and was interested in modern-day Chandler's story the whole time. Well-written, suspenseful, enticing!
🎪 Hidden on the High Wire (secular, middlegrade, fiction)... Yet another great WWII book by Kathy Kacer, found via TGTB book list! We're definitely fans of this author. This book is much more WWII than circus story but there is still a good bit of circus involved, especially at the beginning.
🎪 Lions in the Barn (secular, chapter book, fiction)... This is a fourth grade level book about a young man and his family housing circus big cats in the barn over the winter. A is going to love reading this one!
🎪 The One and Only Ivan (secular, middlegrade, fiction)... I just loved this book, and I think it's being made into a movie! Ivan the gorilla has lived in a tiny mall circus for most of his life but now there's a new baby elephant joining the show and it's up to Ivan to make some things change. Simple writing from Ivan's perspective makes this a great 4th-6th gradeish book but with strong themes of courage, friendship, and loyalty that make it a delightful read-aloud too.
🎪 The Ringmaster's Wife (Christian, adult, time slip historical fiction)... I really enjoyed this one from Kristy Cambron. I'll also add that it's a great read for someone looking to add lots of states to a USA reading challenge.
🎪 Summer of the Monkeys (secular, middle grade, fiction)... My sixth grade class read this book and I still remember so much of it! A young boy learns that a traveling circus has lost its monkeys and is offering a reward to the person who catches and returns them. He's got big plans for that reward and of encounters and learns some delightful things along the way. This one is on my kids' sixth grade shelf too.
🎪 Twenty-One Elephants (secular, picture book, nonfiction)... This fantastic picture book tells the story of PT Barnum parading his 21 circus elephants (including Jumbo, the world's largest elephant) across the newly finished Brooklyn Bridge to prove its safety.
* I received a free copy of The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.
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