(2) 4-6 Misfits series. Illustrated by Dan Santat. In this series opener, twelve-year-old Olive Cobin Zang is a lonely homebody who feels invisible and uncool. She doesn't play sports and is only good at things she thinks nobody else cares about: board games, trapeze, acrobatics, and tightrope walking. She loves Meggie & Her Fun Family comic books, which portray a lively family's adventures and home-cooked meals -- most unlike her own family. Her parents are always traveling for business, and now they have shipped her off to the Reforming Arts School -- RASCH -- near San Francisco. A former castle turned prison, the building is now a school (think Alcatraz meets Hogwarts) for the "artistically adventurous." Among the other misfits Olive finds she's a good fit, at least within the team of crime-fighting preteens assembled to thwart an expected jewel heist on campus. This reunion of Yee and Santat (Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally), rev. 9/09; Bobby the Brave (Sometimes), rev. 9/10) offers an entertaining mystery with good kids working together to defeat the bad guys and, in the process, finding their place in the world. Conversational prose, offbeat similes ("Emotions swirled like a smoothie in a blender"), and Santat's black-and-white illustrations (final art not seen) add up to a madcap escapade featuring likable heroes and dastardly villains. Readers will look forward to further installments.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2024

(2) YA Lillia's Jewish family plans to escape the Nazi threat in Warsaw for Shanghai, but when their circus is raided they're separated from Lillia's mother. Lillia starts out naive at fifteen, and DeWoskin sensitively shows her maturing and accepting the role of sole breadwinner, taking a job dancing at a club. Rich prose details 1940s Japanese-occupied Shanghai through the eyes of a first-person narrator making sense of an unfamiliar setting. Bib.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(3) 4-6 Sasha's family lives with the Cirque Magnifique. She shares a strong bond with younger brother Toddy, and both are bullied for being Cirque kids at their new school. When, in turmoil, Sasha wishes her trapeze-artist parents would disappear, they are turned into birds by mysterious Smoke. Guilt-ridden, Sasha and Toddy set off on a magic-filled rescue. Sasha is a resilient, spirited protagonist, and she gets a satisfying ending.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(4) K-3 After a flea family auditions and wins a spot in the acrobatic troupe The Fleatastics, young daughter Sarafleana, a "born jumper," itches to go solo. The book contains winning wordplay ("The greatest show on dogs!"; "grand fleanale") and applause-worthy artistic detail, but the layouts are so chaotic--there's running text, dialogue balloons, and micro-size asides--that it's hard to know what to read when.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) 4-6 Edge Books: Circus Science series. Written in consultation with a postdoctoral physicist, these titles explore physics concepts integral to the circus. Short narrative paragraphs provide exciting introductions to various circus stunts and brief explanations of, for example, force and displacement in glass-walking (prominent safety disclaimers are included). Simple hands-on science experiments encourage further exploration. Attractive layouts and color photos invite sequential reading or random browsing. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Edge Books: Circus Science titles: Contortion, German Wheels, and Other Mind-Bending Circus Science and Fire Breathing, Sword Swallowing, and Other Death-Defying Circus Science.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester

(4) K-3 One day, this book's pig narrator, employed as Assistant Bean Counter No. 1138, seeks shelter from the rain at a bookstore, where the stories he reads unleash his imagination (perhaps he's an acrobat?). His hand-wringing over whether to follow "the old story" (essentially an unexamined life) may alienate young readers; hopefully, they'll stick around for Rock's sepia-toned watercolors, which exhibit Tim Burton–esque whimsy.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(2) 4-6 Icebreaker series. When Gwin, whose people are traveling acrobats and musicians, attempts to rescue her captured father, she encounters Petrel, Fin, Sharkey, and Rain (Icebreaker; Sunker's Deep). They're seeking the Captain, a mechanical boy programmed with all the world's knowledge who can help them rebuild once the oppressive, anti-technology Devout are vanquished. The trilogy's myriad threads and heroes come together for a final confrontation and a triumphant close.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2018

(1) K-3 Tate tells the story of Victorian-era bodybuilding superstar Eugen Sandow with drama and flair. His chronological narrative depicts an ambitious, hardworking showman with a drive for excellence--from "feeble" boy to acrobat, strongman, fitness guru, and creator of the first organized bodybuilding contest. Digital illustrations with gentle, textured black outlines housing a warm color palette show an approachable version of the athlete. Bib.

Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2017

(3) YA Former acrobat and thief Rémy Brunel and love interest Thaddeaus Rec return (The Diamond Thief; The Ruby Airship), here on an airship into colonial India's forests. While an unjust raja and a sinister cult threaten to wake a slumbering terror, fate grants Rémy an unexpected chance to find her long-lost twin brother. The energetic plot recalls classic action stories with a magical steampunk twist.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) K-3 For his birthday, rambunctious Pablo receives a chair so he'll "sit still for once." But instead the boy dazzles townspeople (and spectators worldwide) with acrobatics on the chair. The quirky story's clear text pairs nicely with the art, in which bursts of primary-color ink enhance clean black pen drawings; there's fun in spotting Pablo and his chair amid some of the finely rendered scenes.

Reviewer: Lauren Causey

(4) YA Famed French jewel thief and acrobat Rémy Brunel (The Diamond Thief) is determined to discover the truth of her origins, even as she is pursued by police and manipulated by a hypnotist. Gosling crafts a world full of steampunk-style mechanisms and criminal intrigue, and though it is occasionally difficult to track the many characters in this sequel, it's an entertaining, fast-paced ride.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) 4-6 Levinson presents two youth circuses: St. Louis (MO)'s Circus Harmony--specifically its elite squad, the St. Louis Arches--and Israel's Galilee Circus, notable for inclusion of both Arabs and Jews. In 2007 the Arches traveled to Galilee to promote cross-cultural understanding--and to have fun practicing circus arts. Vivid photographs and straightforward, interview-heavy text paint a hopeful portrait without sugarcoating reality. Ind.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) K-3 Feeling unappreciated, an acrobat leaves the circus and does his best to entertain some children in a park. Unfortunately, no one pays attention to anything he does. When he gives up and feeds the birds instead, something extraordinary happens--and he has a brand new act. With an expressive black line and areas of bright color, Alborozo creates eye-catching compositions that help tell his quietly satisfying story.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(4) 1-3 Stepping Stone: Calendar Mysteries series. Illustrated by John Steven Gurney. In July, Brian, Bradley, Nate, and Lucy search for pony Polly and Pal the dog, both of whom disappear before the mayor's pet costume contest. In August, the sleuthing quartet uncovers the identity of a mysterious masked acrobat while helping a traveling circus. Both books' text and black-and-white illustrations have kid appeal, but dialogue and characters are flat. Review covers these Calendar Mysteries titles: July Jitters and August Acrobat.

Reviewer: Julie Bartynski

(4) PS Illustrated by Anik McGrory. Behind its glamor, the circus and its performers seem ordinary to a young horseback acrobat, who leads a backstage tour featuring the trapeze artists (his parents), the strongman (his uncle), and the lion tamer (his tutor). Though marred by the rhyming text's occasionally awkward meter, this enjoyable visit is illustrated with art that captures both sides of the story.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin

(2) 4-6 In this captivating first novel, twelve-year-old Cedar grapples with her older brother's absence, the truth about her dead father, and a new friendship--and performs in a circus--all in the context of the day-to-day events of a suburban Australian neighborhood. Cedar's first-person narration features an originality of expression that will carry readers through both the particularities of an unfamiliar setting and a large cast of eclectic characters.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2003

(3) K-3 Illustrated by David Shannon. The stone arches that frame the acrylic paintings cannot contain the acrobatic antics of Péquelé, an orphan living in a monastery. Though he defies the Abbot and uses his "carnival ways" to entertain a dying baby, his spiritual nature is revealed when the statue of an angel miraculously flies off with the young acrobat. A note provides one source for this simple yet affecting French folktale.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 A trapeze in the kitchen, a pink, star-covered cannon on the roof, and assorted atypical pets are just some of the unusual accoutrements of life in this friendly family of circus performers. Nimble cartoon illustrations depict the high-flying Garbanzos preparing for their youngest's second birthday, a process that involves balancing their unicycle on an airplane to retrieve a runaway cake.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann