When the Circus Came to Town

by Polly Horvath

A hilarious satire on small-town prejudice

It all started with the Halibuts. Then came Elmira Degoochy the snake lady. Then the Flying Gambinis -- all seven of them and their mother. And Mrs. Harrison the fortune-teller, and Mr. Wydel the strongman . . .

These are the new residents of Springfield, the formerly peaceful Midwestern town where up to now young Ivy's life had been pretty uneventful. Ivy becomes fast friends with Alfred Halibut, who is an aspiring writer like herself and the son of a circus publicity manager. She also befriends the other circus people who have moved into town. But many of her neighbors are not feeling kindly about this invasion of strange characters. Tensions somersault into a climactic tangle at the Springfield bake-off. In the midst of hurtling pies, one voice alone can bring peace and tolerance back to the community. When the Circus Came to Town is Polly Horvath's funniest novel to date, packed with vivid exaggeration and slapstick scenarios.

Genres: Childrens, Middle Grade, Juvenile

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Polly Horvath is the author of many books for young people, including Everything on a Waffle, The Pepins and Their Problems, The Canning Season and The Trolls. Her numerous awards include the Newbery Honor, the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor, the Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature, the Mr. Christie Award, the international White Raven, and the Young Adult Canadian Book of the Year. Horvath grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She attended the Canadian College of Dance in Toronto and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in New York City. She has taught ballet, waitressed, done temporary typing, and tended babies, but while doing these things she has always also written. Now that her children are in school, she spends the whole day writing, unless she sneaks out to buy groceries, lured away from her desk by the thought of fresh Cheez Whiz. She lives on Vancouver Island with her husband and two daughters.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/pollyh...

Reviews

[Helena Sorensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book may have generated more raucous laughter than The Canning Season and The Trolls combined. How is that possible?

[Rick Stuckwisch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one of Polly Hovath's earlier books, and another excellent piece of work. Polly really is a genius at taking little slices of more-or-less ordinary family life and giving them breadth and depth. Plenty of details, with color and contour, but she never over reaches in the scope of her stories. She rather focuses on a particular scenario and situation, develops it magnificently, and then concludes it satisfactorily. As usual, there is some lovely gentle humor throughout the story, but also some thoughtful and thought-provoking philosophical commentary. Well worth reading.

[Bridget R. Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. I was hooked from the first page. It's delightfully hilarious. And Ivy has a unique voice and perspective on her world.

[Ashley Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Polly Horvath entertains me again for an afternoon. Her books have such a wonderful blend of zany characters and valuable life-lessons, I gobble them up in one sitting.

[Carling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love this book. I'm in my 30s and I still go back to this one every so often when I need something light and warm-fuzzy giving. Ivy is probably my favorite narrator of all time - she's charming and self-deprecating and cute, though she would almost certainly hate being called cute. A great lesson in tolerance for little kids (and, let's be honest, a lot of adults).

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/4 stars

[Susan Honthumb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful. Even though the recommended grades for this charming little book are for grades three through seventh, this older adult found it quite entertaining. Beyond the quirky characters, Polly Horvath is a great wordsmith and puts together sentences like: “I sank back into feigned sleep and my mother, ever cat-like, disappeared on little fog feet.” I wouldn't think that a third grader would see words like feigned, but maybe they should. I recommend this for any grade. My new plan is to read more of Horvath.

[Lucy Siskova · Rating 2 out of 5]

Opravdu moc nemusím tenhle druh četby a styl psaní, ale řekla jsem si proč ne, neboť jsem tuhle knihu dostala na Vánoce a je mým zvykem řečíst každou knihu, kterou mám doma v knihovně.
Téma jak maloměšťáci přijímají nové lidi mezi sebe je sice poněkud ohrané, ale přesto nepřestává být vyhledáváným. Tomu vašak není u mě.

[Erin Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for doing a circus thematic unit on, which is what I plan to do next summer. Underneath it all, it deals with prejudices and not liking people that are different from us. The ending is great and just so unexpected.

[Kristen Jorgensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Polly Horvath’s writing style.
This book is about a town struggling as ex-circus performers gradually move in, upsetting the towns "normalcy." Polly Horvath shows the simple truth about community, nobody has a right to exclude or choose who others exclude.

[Amara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice children's story. Got it for my kids from the library, and sat down and read it. Polly Horvath is always a little over the top, which kids (and I) love. Check out "Everything on a waffle" or "The trolls" for her best ones.

[Barb G · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This is the third book we've read by this author. I like her sense of humor. There Is a reference to being "stoned" that I skipped over, but otherwise this book was entertaining and also a conversation starter on treating people kindly even if they come from a different background.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book as a group of circus people come to live in a small town. It was fun and funny, but had a good message about prejudice without being heavy handed. I enjoy Polly Horvath's books. This made me go to look for more of hers.

[B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A girl records the reactions of town residents when various odd but funny circus performers move into town.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Metafiction for the younger set. Loved it.

[Francina Simone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilariously, beautiful.

[Kiirstin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very witty and enjoyable to read. Loved the odd characters and the moral aspect of the story.

[Shirwac]

i think,this book is so intresting

[Melora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute. A read-aloud.

[Beth Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super fun read-aloud. We laughed and cried. Big subjects are dealt with and assumptions challenged in a humorous way.