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PICTURE BOOKS
Kobayashi, Yutaka

The Circus Comes to the Village

48 pp. | Museyon | November, 2019 | Trade ISBN 978-1-940842-27-1 $17.99
(2) K-3 Yamo's Village series. Translated by Mariko Shii Gharbi. In this follow-up to The Most Beautiful Village in the World, Yamo and his friend Mirado are thrilled that the traveling circus has come to their Afghani mountain village of Pagham. Pagham is certainly scenic, yet the author doesn't romanticize the children's difficult lives; they work long hours in the fields alongside adults, and "Mirado's father went to war and hasn't returned yet." This harshness provides a strong contrast to the circus's much-needed gaiety, as performers bring "worlds full of wonder" to inhabitants who set aside work for a few hours to enjoy themselves. Mirado, who plays the flute, is invited onstage; he "plays songs that capture everyone's hearts" and the next day decides to join the circus. As in Beautiful Village, the story ends with a surprising shock: "That winter, the village was destroyed in the war" and all the survivors scattered. Originally published in Japan, the series is inspired by Kobayashi's travels to Afghanistan in the 1970s and early 1980s. The author/illustrator blends bits of his Nihonga (traditional Japanese-style art) aesthetic with Central Asian Islamic-style details and motifs, in illustrations that are varied, colorful, and full of life.
Reviewer: Julie Hakim Azzam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2020

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