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Circus Mirandus
Author:
Beasley, Cassie
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Class:
Fiction
Age: 8-12
Language: English
Demand: Moderate
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LC: PZ7.1
Grade: 3-7
Print Run: 100000
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ISBN-13: 9780525428435
LCCN: 2014031463
Imprint: Dial Books for Young Readers
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Pub Date: 06/02/2015
Availability: Out of Stock Indefinitely
List: $17.99
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Hardcover
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Physical Description:
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292 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
H 9.31",
W 6.31",
D 1.06",
1.3125 lbs.
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LC Series:
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Brodart Sources:
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Brodart's For Youth Interest Titles
Brodart's For Youth Interest: Popular
Brodart's Insight Catalog: Children
Brodart's TOP Juvenile Titles
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Bibliographies:
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Children's Core Collection, 23rd ed.
Children's Core Collection, 24th ed.
Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award, Gr. 3-5 Book lists
Middle and Junior High Core Collection, 13th ed.
Middle and Junior High Core Collection, 14th ed.
Middle and Junior High Core Collection, 15th ed.
New York Times Bestsellers List
New York Times Bestsellers: Children's Middle Grade and Young Adult Books
Texas Bluebonnet Award Master Lists
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Awards:
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Horn Book Guide Titles, Rated 1 - 4
Kirkus Starred Reviews
New York Times Notable Books
Publishers Weekly Starred Reviews
School Library Journal Starred Reviews
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Starred Reviews:
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Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly
School Library Journal
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TIPS Subjects:
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Fantasy
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BISAC Subjects: |
JUVENILE FICTION / Fantasy & Magic
JUVENILE FICTION / Family / Multigenerational
JUVENILE FICTION / Performing Arts / Circus
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LC Subjects:
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Circus, Fiction
Friendship, Fiction
Grandfathers, Fiction
Great aunts, Fiction
Magic, Fiction
Orphans, Fiction
Sick, Fiction
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SEARS Subjects: |
Circus, Fiction
Friendship, Fiction
Grandfathers, Fiction
Great aunts, Fiction
Magic, Fiction
Orphans, Fiction
Sick, Fiction
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Reading Programs: |
Accelerated Reader Level:
4.8
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Points: 9.0
Lexile Level:
710
Reading Counts Level:
4.4
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Points: 15.0
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| Annotations |
| Brodart's TOP Juvenile Titles | 06/01/2015 |
| Only a miracle can save Micah Tuttle's dying grandpa, the time has come for the Lightbender to make good on his promise. Micah and his friend, Jenny, set out to find the Circus Mirandus, a magical circus that Micah's grandfather visited when he was only a boy. Now Micah must convince the circus' best magician to deliver the miracle that Grandpa Ephraim so badly desires. 304pp. |
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| Starred Reviews: |
| Kirkus Reviews | 03/15/2015 |
| One strange afternoon, 10-year-old Micah Tuttle finds out that magic is real. Micah always thought Grandpa Ephraim's wild stories of the centuries-old Circus Mirandus were spun solely for his amusement. But when his dying grandfather writes a letter to the "Lightbender," hoping to call in the miracle the magician had promised him as a boy, Micah learns the stories were true, and the appearance of Ms. Chintzy, the circus' cantankerous parrot messenger, clinches the deal. Happily, Micah finds a loyal if somewhat challenging friend to help him track down the elusive light-bending magician: the magic-leery, science-minded Jenny Mendoza. Their budding rapport is nuanced and complex, a refreshing illustration of how absolute like-mindedness is not a prerequisite for friendship. On one level, the book is a fantastical circus romp, with fortunetelling vultures and "a wallaby that could burp the Greek alphabet." On another, it's both serious and thick with longing: Micah's ache for the companionship of his once-vital guardian-grandfather; Grandpa Ephraim's boyhood yearning for his absent father, as fleshed out in flashbacks; the circus founders' desire to keep enchantment alive in a world where "faith is such a fragile thing." A delicious confection and much more: it shows that the human heart is delicate, that it matters, and that it must be handled with care. (Fiction. 9-12). 304pg. KIRKUS MEDIA LLC, c2015. |
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| Publishers Weekly | 04/20/2015 |
| Ages 9-12. Knot-tying fifth grader Micah Tuttle has grown up on his grandfather's stories of the magical Circus Mirandus, but when Grandpa Ephraim gets sick, the parentless Micah learns just how much power there can be in illusion. Beasley's debut is a bit of its own three-ring circus, masterfully diverting readers' attention among the pressing matter of Ephraim's illness, the inventive descriptions of Circus Mirandus in Ephraim's flashbacks and Micah's visits, and the larger, more serious tragedy of those who refuse to believe. As Micah and his fact-loving friend, Jenny, search for a miracle to save his grandfather, the Lightbender and the rest of the acts at the circus fight "to keep enchantment alive in the world" while protecting children from the darker side of magic. From the seemingly small magic of Micah's knot tricks to the life-changing illusions created by the Lightbender, readers will be left with the reminder that "just because a magic is small doesn't mean it is unimportant" and the hope, reminiscent of Peter Pan, that those who still believe will always have magic in their lives. Agent: Elena Giovinazzo, Pippin Properties. (June). 304p. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, c2015. |
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| School Library Journal | 04/01/2015 |
| Gr 4-6--Fifth-grader Micah Tuttle has been living with his Grandpa Ephraim since his parents died when he was very young. The two are close; Grandpa Ephraim teaches Micah how to tie complicated knots and tells him fanciful tales about the magical Circus Mirandus and its many performers, including a powerful illusionist called the Lightbender. When Grandpa Ephraim becomes gravely ill, his sister, the strict and dour Aunt Gertrudis, comes to take care of the household. She severely limits Micah's time with his sick grandfather, and the boy is distraught at the idea of losing the only important person in his life. In a stolen moment, Grandpa Ephraim surprises Micah by revealing that the Circus Mirandus is real, and that the Lightbender promised him a miracle when he was a child. The protagonist begins to hope that his grandfather will get well. The Circus Mirandus arrives in town on the wind, and Micah, with the help of his classmate Jenny Mendoza, seeks out the Lightbender and tries to retrieve the miracle that Grandpa Ephraim has requested. During a whirlwind adventure in the Circus, Micah learns about his family and discovers that the miracle that Grandpa Ephraim asked for might not be the one that Micah had in mind. Circus Mirandus is not a simple story, but readers will be rewarded for delving into its intricacies. VERDICT This gripping fantasy tale will have readers hooked from the opening scene to the breathtaking--and unexpected--conclusion. Sarah Reid, Broome County Public Library, Binghamton, NY. 304p. SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, c2015. |
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| Journal Reviews |
| BookPage | 06/01/2015 |
| 9 to 12. When we reach author Cassie Beasley at her family's home in rural Georgia, it's 50 days until the release of her debut, Circus Mirandus . . . not that she's counting. Oh, let's not be silly--of course she's counting! On a huge calendar hanging on the wall: "I mark off the days and get more and more excited until I feel like I'm about to burst!" Beasley says. Too late: Beasley has already burst onto the children's publishing scene. Her magical tale for middle grade readers sold to Dial after a five-publisher bidding war, and a Hollywood production company has pre-emptively purchased film and TV rights. "It's been a whirlwind, and so much fun--everything that happens is a revelation!" Beasley says. It's also the culmination of steady progress along a path to authordom that began in childhood. "I loved books from a very early age and read everything I could get my hands on," Beasley says. "But it took me a while to make the connection that I didn't have to just read books, I could also write books." Beasley figured this out in high school, which led to her choosing an undergraduate writing program at nearby Georgia Southern University, followed by getting her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, where she wrote the first draft of Circus Mirandus. "Writing that first draft was very exciting and fun and all so new.... I loved it, loved it, loved it," she says. "Then came the years of revision! That's where the work comes in. But it can be really exciting, too, seeing it getting better as you progress. It's so rewarding, now that it's done, to see how far it's come." All that work was certainly worth it. Circus Mirandus is an engaging, innovative tale that balances fantastical goings-on with an exploration of love, loss, friendship and the value of being open to the unexplainable. The latter has been part of Beasley's mental makeup from an early age. "I always gravitated toward fantasy novels," she explains. "It's probably my parents' fault--they had floor-to-ceiling bookshelves with fantasy books, so I was always imagining I could go to Narnia or Hogwarts. Even when I try to write contemporary books, there's always some magic because I can't help myself." Ten-year-old Micah Tuttle is wide open to magical thinking, thanks to the stories Grandpa Ephraim (who has cared for Micah since his parents died) tells him stories about the amazing, magical Circus Mirandus. There are talking animals, invisible tigers and otherworldly performers--not least The Man Who Bends Light, a magician who transports his audiences to places and times they can only dream or imagine. When Grandpa falls ill and his sister, the awful Great-Aunt Gertrudis, comes to stay, she won't allow them to talk about the Circus ... or spend much time together at all. But Micah sneaks in to see Grandpa, and that's when he learns something astonishing: Circus Mirandus is real! And Grandpa has written a letter to the Lightbender, because the magician owes him a miracle. As if finding out magic is real and having a sick grandpa and a mean great-aunt isn't stressful enough, Micah also has an important project due at school--and his partner, the super-smart Jenny Mendoza, is not going to be pleased when she finds out he hasn't finished his part yet. Micah wracks his brain to come up with an idea and decides to make an Incan quipu, a series of intricate knots that represent numbers, words and other information. It's somewhat of a natural choice for Micah: "Grandpa Ephraim liked to say that Tuttles and knots went together like toast and cheese." It's also a somewhat unusual story choice, in that knot tying is a bit of a lost art (and skill). Beasley was fascinated to learn about quipus in... Review exceeds allowable length. Linda M. Castellitto. 304. BOOKPAGE, c2015. |
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| Booklist | 05/15/2015 |
| Grades 4-7. Micah's parents died when he was just a toddler, and now he happily lives with Grandpa Ephraim, who tells him fantastic stories, the best of which are about Circus Mirandus, a circus kids can only attend if they believe in magic. When Ephraim was a boy, he came upon the magical circus and met the Man Who Bends Light, who was so impressed by Ephraim's knot-tying skills that he promised him a miracle. Now, many years later, Ephraim is dying, and Micah is determined to make sure he gets his miracle. Joined by his skeptical, brilliant friend Jenny, Micah seeks out Circus Mirandus to see its wonders for himself and to confront the Lightbender, though in the process, he learns more about himself than he ever expected. Debut author Beasley has built an imaginative world in evocative, painterly prose, particularly the circus, and she's filled it with compellingly multifaceted characters. Some elements don't quite knit together, but with a sequel in the works, don't be surprised if those loose ends tie up nicely. Hunter, Sarah. 304p. AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, c2015. |
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| Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books | 09/01/2015 |
| R. Gr. 4-7. Grandpa Ephraim, who has raised Micah Tuttle for most of his ten years, is dying, but he can't go in peace until he claims a miracle promised to him by the Lightbender, a magician in a mysterious circus Ephraim attended in his youth. Micah has been hearing stories of the wondrous Circus Mirandus all his life, and he believes that that the Lightbender will restore the old man to health and thereby send Ephraim's officious sister Gertrudis-Micah's resented and resentful guardian-in-waiting-packing. With the help of a skeptical schoolmate, Jenny, Micah does find the circus and share his grandfather's awe, but the miracle Grandpa brokers with the Lightbender isn't quite the one Micah wants, even though it's exactly the one he needs. The tender relationship between grandfather and grandson is delicately drawn, and the family backstory, with its ties to a dark episode in the millennia-old history of Circus Mirandus, is intriguing. Monochromatic illustrations are painterly but robust, neatly enclosing their drama in bordered vignettes. At the core of Beasley's debut novel is the theme of eternal life explored in Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting, and readers will sense the rightness of Grandpa Ephraim's final request even as they share Micah's reluctance to let the ailing man go the way he lived-caring for his grandson to the very end. EB. 292p. THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIV. OF ILLINOIS, c2015. |
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| Horn Book | 09/01/2015 |
| Intermediate. Micah lives with his grandpa Ephraim, who regales him with stories of the amazing Circus Mirandus and its magical leader, the Lightbender. But now that Ephraim is dying and unimaginative Aunt Gertrudis is taking over Micah's care, it seems that the Circus might actually be real. Beasley's first novel succeeds in tone, suspense, and inventiveness of the magical setting, but her invented world feels more convincing than her real one, and the highly allegorical character and narrative arcs never get far beyond obvious hints and platitudes: "Do you realize that magic as we know it is fading? Do you realize that [we] are fighting to keep enchantment alive in the world? You say the children aren't special, but they are. They are the key to everything." The reader may not be sure why this matters, but may believe it does, and a promised sequel might hold the answers. Beasley has talent in crafting energy on the page but has not yet succeeded in telling a fully realized story. nina lindsay. 296pg. THE HORN BOOK, c2015. |
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| Horn Book Guide | 05/01/2016 |
| 4. Micah's grandpa Ephraim regales him with stories of the amazing Circus Mirandus. But now that Ephraim is dying and unimaginative Aunt Gertrudis is taking over Micah's care, it seems that the Circus might actually be real. Beasley's first novel succeeds in tone, suspense, and inventiveness of the magical setting, but her invented world feels more convincing than her real one. nl. 296pg. THE HORN BOOK, c2016. |
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| ~VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates Magazine - Retired Journal) | 04/01/2015 |
| 4Q 4P M. Do you believe in magic? Micah has grown up with what he always assumed were stories of the magical Circus Mirandus, as told by his grandfather, Ephraim. When Ephraim falls ill and becomes bedridden, he confides his deepest secret to Micah; not only are the stories real, but Ephraim was also promised a miracle by the circus's magician a very long time ago. Now it is up to Micah to track down this magician and claim the wish that was never used--a wish he yearns to use to make his grandfather well again. When the Lightbender refuses to fulfill his promise, Micah will have to use everything he believes in to find not only this miracle but also where he belongs in the world. Circus Mirandus blooms before the reader's eyes as the story goes back and forth between Ephraim's experiences at the circus when he was a boy and Micah's current experiences as he and a new friend eschew sensibility to track down miracles and magic. Studded with descriptions that make people and props alike come alive, this story will make readers wish so very badly that a circus, complete with gorilla balloons and mysterious bird ladies, will pop up one day in town and only accept those who truly believe in magic. This lighthearted middle-grade fantasy is an ideal pick for those who want to be immersed in an imaginative world where there is no limit on creativity and adventure.--Nina Michael. 304p. VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES, c2015. |
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9780525428435,dl.it[0].title
| Review Citations |
| New York Times Book Review | 06/21/2015 |
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