Product Description

Olivia remembers her trip to the circus very well. The performers were out sick, so she had to do everything. She...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5891 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 44 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780689829543
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
When it comes time to tell the class what she did on her vacation, Olivia isn't at all nervous. In fact, she remembers it quite clearly--she went to the circus, you see. "But when we got there, all the circus people were out sick with ear infections." What are the odds? But the show must go on! Fortunately, Olivia jumps right in to help out--riding elephants, posing as the Tattooed Lady (she draws on the pictures with a marker), taming lions, walking tightropes, juggling, clowning around, and more. In a marvelous fold-out, four-panel spread, our porcine heroine even reigns supreme as the Queen of the Trampoline. "And that's how I saved the circus. And now I am famous." Olivia looks proud. Her teacher looks mad. Ian Falconer shines in this dryly hilarious sequel to his 2001 Caldecott Honor Book Olivia. The charcoal and gouache illustrations perfectly capture Olivia's earnest expressions. Be prepared to be charmed anew! (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly
Could there be a more ideal place for Olivia than in the center ring under the Big Top? It will come as no surprise to her many fans that this is how Olivia claims to have spent her summer vacation. Using the same day-in-the-life format as his show-stopping debut (Olivia), Falconer shows Olivia making pancakes for her two brothers (including new addition William) before school. "This is a big help to her mother," accompanies a picture of utter chaos in the kitchen. The heroine adds her signature red accoutrements to her "really boring uniform," then heads to the classroom where it's her turn to tell about her summer ("Olivia always blossoms in front of an audience"); she holds both teacher and students (and readers) rapt as she describes her trip to the circus. "All the circus people were out sick with ear infections," says Olivia. "Luckily I knew how to do everything." Falconer outdoes himself with theatrical scenes of the diminutive leading lady teetering on top of an elephant's head, walking on stilts and, in a four-page fold-out spread, as "Queen of the Trampoline" flying off the trapeze and somersaulting in the air (the outline of her porkish figure trapped in the trampoline netting is worth the price of admission). He once again demonstrates how attuned he is to the way a child thinks when, at the very end of her share, in tiny typeface, Olivia tacks on a shred of truth, "Then one time my dad took me sailing The End." This star's numerous spectators can only hope that she will have many encores. Ages 3-7.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
reS-Gr 2-Just one year after the auspicious debut of a precocious, multitalented young piglet comes an encore performance. The circus performers are sick with ear infections, but, luckily for all, Olivia knows "how to do everything." She walks on stilts, juggles, clowns, walks the tightrope, and tames the lions. Best of all, in a spectacular double gatefold, she is Flying Olivia (trapeze artist) and Olivia, Queen of the Trampoline. The presentation of these two acts as one gracefully flowing motion from trapeze to trampoline to trapeze is a virtuoso performance graphically as well. The story of the little pig at the circus is framed within the context of a school day when it is the youngster's turn to tell about her summer vacation, and, as we know already, "Olivia always blossoms in front of an audience." The endpapers, front matter, and first pages of the story repeat motifs from the earlier book. Charcoal-and-line drawings are brilliantly accented with the piglet's flair for red clothing and accessories. When Olivia's imagination takes over at the circus, the bright-red accents change to a softer, peachy-pink hue. As in Olivia (Atheneum, 2000), the tone is witty and understated. Dialogue is minimal, but nonetheless brimming with humorous undertones. This story is more complex than the first, and, in a few instances, one wishes for smoother narrative transitions. However, Falconer has successfully sustained and built upon his delightfully original portrayal of the feisty Olivia, her vivid imagination, and her strong sense of self.

Dorian Chong, School of Library and Information Science, San Jose State University, CA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Olivia saves bedtime...
I am here to buy this book and it's predecessor. We picked up Olivia Saves the Circus at the library, and now I have to buy one because we can't renew it anymore! My son is only 16 months old, but he gets very excited when he sees this book come out at bedtime. One night I gathered up a few books to read before bed, and Olivia wasn't in the stack. He looked over the books, then scooted into the living room and returned with Olivia Saves the Circus, asking (in his own way) that it be read. Now he insists that it is part of his bedtime ritual. If I don't have it in the stack of bedtime books, he finds it and brings it along. And when we get to the trampoline part, he always throws up his hands and says, "Wow!" And both his father and I love it, too. The illustrations are wonderful, and the whole character of Olivia - her bold self-confidence, her independent spirit and imagination - is very charming. My favorite part is the end - "Maybe..." I love a pig who's sure of herself...

Roll Out the Red Carpet
Roll out the red carpet, and welcome back Olivia. It's only fitting. Red is, after all, her favorite color. With OLIVIA and now OLIVIA SAVES THE CIRCUS, Olivia joins Wilbur
of CHARLOTTE'S WEB and Napoleon of ANIMAL FARM in the pantheon of great pigs in literature. Olivia would no doubt agree.

Similar in structure to the first book, this is a day in the life of Olivia, and Walter Mitty's got nothing on this little piggy. It is Olivia's turn to tell the class about her
vacation. She goes to the circus, but all the performers are out with ear infections. Luckily Olivia knows how to do everything, and in her outsized imagination that's precisely what she does.

Ian Falconer's wry, understated text and whimsical, expressive artwork are a perfect match, each fleshing out Olivia in its own way, complementing each other without ever becoming redundant. Olivia is artsy. She's crafty. She's a bundle of joy. She's a handful. She rocks. She rolls. She rules. She's not afraid to dream big dreams. She's her own pig, and that's why we love her.

Olivia...You've Gotta Love Her.....
It's Olivia's turn to tell the class about her vacation, and she can't wait. "Olivia always blossoms in front of an audience." And so our feisty little pig begins the story about her day at the circus. Of course, all the performers were out sick with ear infections, but "luckily I knew how to do everything." She tames lions and walks tightropes, performs on stilts, juggles, and even rides a unicycle. Then she clowns, swings high on the trapeze, and is Queen of the Trampoline. Finally, she ends her show as Madame Olivia and her trained dogs. "And that's how I saved the circus. And now I am famous." Olivia is very proud. Her teacher is exasperated. "True?", she asks again and again. "Yes, to the best of my recollection", answers Olivia..... Ian Falconer has bettered last year's, Olivia, debut, and fans won't be able to get enough of this adorable and precocious little pig with her queen-size imagination. His witty, yet simple text is kept to a minimum and really captures the preschool mind. But it's his charming and clever charcoal artwork, with just a creative splash of color here and there to highlight his scenes, that really makes this book stand out. Both children and adults will laugh out loud at the antics of this delightful little heroine. Perfect for youngsters 3-7, Olivia Saves the Circus is a must for home libraries and a picture book kids will beg to read again and again. Olivia is back and better than ever!