Illustrations by Sidney Falcão

I have known a few people in my lifetime who have turned into various animals from time to time.  Some have even been in my own family.  Who hasn’t heard these expressions . . . “He was surly as a bear!  She was a little minx. The women got into a cat fight last night. He’s just an ugly old toad. (With a kiss he may turn into a prince, however.  Oh, wait! That’s a frog that does that.)”  These are all metaphors that are all too common in our society relating people to animals.  So, when the circus came to town and the little ten-year-old boy was waiting to see the woman turn into a six-foot gorilla—I waited with him.

What a fun, quirky, engaging little story this was!  My day was not all that great, but after a few pages I was really giggling with some of the absurdities of this odd little circus that appears and disappears without a sound. The art work is great.  The brightly colored cartoons look like they were painted with pastel watercolors.  And, the tale was so masterfully crafted that to an adult it seems quirky and odd; but to a child, I am certain, the allusions would make perfect sense in their little world filled with mysteries and giants.

Despite the frivolity and light-hearted nature of this short, simple story there is a much deeper meaning that small children might be able to relate to if they have been a part of a separation of some type within their family. The parent becomes enraged and turns into a monster/animal (which sometimes does draw a crowd). The other parent leaves home, thus relinquishing their partner of the power to change into a giant animal, and what is left is an empty shell of sadness.  When the fighting is over one of the parents packs up in the middle of the night and disappears.  Afterwards, it is so painful that no one talks about it; they keep it to themselves. The story is so cleverly disguised that I really did not catch on right away to what the meaning was behind all the cute expressive drawings of the circus and animal acts.

In this, I think the book has great merit.  Along with being a cute, funny, and a colorful little children’s book I think this might be something that a child could connect with and make sense of during a bad situation that really does not make any sense at all to them (or anyone else for that matter).  Think about it . . . we have all heard people comment about someone, when going through a break-up, in their neighborhood or family, “It is a circus over there!”

I give this book 5-stars!  This author is brilliant!

My thanks to authors Tom S. Figueiredo, Antonio Cedraz and Sidney Falcão for providing this delightful story; and to Review the Book.comfor the opportunity to review such a fun read.

I REMEMBER MY CIRCUS

• File Size: 1640 KB
• Print Length: 53 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Editora Cedraz; 2 edition (July 16, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005EZ0W0Y