Come to the Circus!

by Enid Blyton

Fenella has to go live with her uncle Eursie, who looks after the bears in a circus, and she is afraid of animals!

Is she going to become friends with the animals and all those odd circus folk or will she always remain afraid of animals?

Genres: Childrens, Middle Grade, Animals, Fiction, Classics, Adventure

184 pages, Hardcover

First published August 31, 1948

About the author

See also:
Ένιντ Μπλάιτον (Greek)
Enida Blaitona (Latvian)
Энид Блайтон (Russian)
Inid Blajton (Serbian)
Інід Блайтон (Ukrainian)

Enid Mary Blyton (1897–1968) was an English author of children's books.

Born in South London, Blyton was the eldest of three children, and showed an early interest in music and reading. She was educated at St. Christopher's School, Beckenham, and - having decided not to pursue her music - at Ipswich High School, where she trained as a kindergarten teacher. She taught for five years before her 1924 marriage to editor Hugh Pollock, with whom she had two daughters. This marriage ended in divorce, and Blyton remarried in 1943, to surgeon Kenneth Fraser Darrell Waters. She died in 1968, one year after her second husband.

Blyton was a prolific author of children's books, who penned an estimated 800 books over about 40 years. Her stories were often either children's adventure and mystery stories, or fantasies involving magic. Notable series include: The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, The Five Find-Outers, Noddy, The Wishing Chair, Mallory Towers, and St. Clare's.

According to the Index Translationum, Blyton was the fifth most popular author in the world in 2007, coming after Lenin but ahead of Shakespeare.

See also her pen name Mary Pollock

Reviews

[Catherine Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a Kindle e-book. I remember having the hard-back, colourful cover version 30 plus years ago and loving it. Nice to revisit a old favourite, still as enjoyable as I remembered.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm always so happy to finish a good book
I actually gave this book 3.5⭐️ so rounding it up to a 4 on here to be kind.

I did certainly enjoy many aspects of this book, one of which was fenny and Willie's relationship they will definitely date in the future in my mind. Also, I'm so glad that Aunt Lou's backstory was given because it held so much importance and really brought up important topics.

Enid Blyton will always have a special place in my heart as my nana passed her collection of books onto me, and I can't wait to read them all.

[Kavita Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Childhood favorite

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous third book of the series. Loved it.

[Kimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when I was about nine years old, if my memory is correct. This book is for children only, period. Oh, I recall how crazy I was over this book. How I giggled over Fenella accidentally falling asleep with her pet bear, and how I fretted when Fenella went missing, as if I had lost my own limb. I took so much pleasure out of this simple plot. Now, come to think about it, the main female character, yes, Fenella is somewhat Mary Sue-ish, and she and the other characters happen to live in a perfect little world where the circus never has to worry about ticket sales, or the competition of cinemas and theme-parks in the entertainment industry, or the impact of the recession on their incomes. But somehow the pristine innocence shining from a child's eyes will preserve of the joy of reading this simplest of stories, and the loopholes and unrealistic perfection of the characters can never be marred by jealousy. And I was once like that, not too long ago, when I first picked up Come To The Circus.

Sadly, I'm all grown up now. I have developed a critical eye for detail and plot loopholes, a satire humour for unrealistic storylines, and ultimately an unforgiving temper (bordering on foul) when I come across worthless literature. I cannot enjoy Come To The Circus as I once did, now. Reading through a lens filtered by worldly knowledge and cautious maturity cannot promise the entertainment from this innocent bedtime story, I know. I will never enjoy as much as I did the moments of flipping through the pages of this book and delicately absorbing the plot now, but I can still enjoy this book vicariously through my memories, as I reminisce how perfect a companion this book was during the dreariest of days, and admire how the child of me could seek pleasure in the simplest of things.

Wistfully, I have moved on to more adult books sometimes laced with content unspeakable to children. I have never been a true fan of Enid Blyton even when I was a child. But, even as I realize that this review has almost nothing to do with the book and has been all about myself, thank you, Come To The Circus, for playing a part in the gift of a wonderful childhood.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea how to read this objectively - it was probably my favourite book at like, 6 years old. A nostalgia-vote for 4 stars. The underlying theme seems to be "the world is harsh and unloving". This tiny child is an ORPHAN and then her caregiver meets some guy and runs off to Canada, and is like, "go live with your other aunt, good luck". Just BYE? That's it? Then the new aunt is all surly because she looks like her own dead child?! Fenella is constantly trying to buy the love of those around her by being well-behaved and doing small favours, too, the people pleasing runs deep, probably scared this next aunt will turf her out too if she doesn't prove herself worthy.

But mostly it's a funny little bear falling down and everyone's always sewing and eating sausages and I can't be mad at it.

[K.L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fenella is terrified when she learns she has to live with her circus uncle Ursie and his hard wife, she's scared of animals - and almost everything. But soon she makes friends with the circus folk and wouldn't dream of any other life

[Random-girl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awww, I loved this book.

[Rosie 😀📚 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book, brilliant time in Enid Blyton world!!!!

[Mary Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic story. Should be better known.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this when I was nine, when I borrowed a copy from the public library. But then, the book had a few torn pages of the supposed climax, so what I remembered of this book was an awfully itchy cliffhanger in my memory.
Ten years later and I'm still dissatisfied with the impression I had of this book. Call me extremely bored, but I went in search of a full version of this book and hey Presto! (Pun intended) Here I am reading this book again.
I must say, this book is exclusively for an audience of children. If you were expecting major twists, romance, suspense, shiny vampires, Bella Swann... I suggest you read something else. This book is for the (very, very) young at heart, or for the extremely bored. It's just too bad, really, for me to judge this book from an adult's perspective.It was a light, good, and fast read, where good and bad are very distinctly defined, and where everyone is happy and helpful and have no problems at all. A reader is too old for this book if he or she complains about the plot being too simple. Me? I say that the book is too simple, but I'm not complaining. After all, I wasn't expecting anything more, anyway.
I guess that does make me an extremely bored person after all.

[Kylie Abecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this little book. Got me wishing I had been able to spend time at the circus when I was a child.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my absolute favourite book in the history of books!

[GaiB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magical childhood favourite