Customer Reviews

Olivia Saves the Circus

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ian Falconer's captivating main character, Olivia, seems to be an average little pig, who lives an average little life. While at school however, she claims that she saved the entire circus, because everyone else had ear infections. She goes on and on with her creative story, always claiming that she is telling the truth. This book is great for young children. The story is creative and funny. The illustrations are bold, vivid, and humorous. Children will love this book!

On a first, not-so-critical read, the story was enjoyable. The pictures, in black and white accessorized with red (see cover for example), are charming, serene and elegant. The poster of Eleanor Roosevelt in Olivia's bedroom can actually make it worth reading and is definitely a five star detail. The spotlighting of a different circus act on each page was great for my 2 1/2 year old who loves the circus. Olivia is a spunky and imaginative child. She is also spoiled and obnoxious with a badly stereotyped mother (passive) and female teacher (presumably anti-imagination and -fun). There is definitely a need for positive assertive and independent creative female protaginists in children's stories but there is no need to assume that the only alternatives are passive or killjoy older females. The pejorative portrayl of the teacher is enough to make this book a definite do not read. Given the problems with education and the images that children already receive, the last thing we need to do is unnecessarily make it worse by propogating more negative stereotypes about school. Olivia's attitude in responding to her teacher and her mother is unfortunately too realistic - there's no need to assume that such obnoxious behavior is admirable as long as one can be clever and individualistic. Adults need to take responsibility for the character traits that we are willing to validate as admirable and provide "people" in books and other media that we want children to emulate. For truly more admirable spunky and creative girls, try Pippi Longstocking, Amelia Bedelia, Pirate Pink, or Treva ("Trouble with Trolls"). The Caldecott Award is given to honor artists/illustrators, which also happens to be a key component to books for very young children. And this book is beautifully and uniquely illustrated. But given the nature of our society and the problems that parents and children must face, we need to be more diligent in what we expose our children to and that means being willing to take a stand and say no to books that don't remove the pejorative stereotypes and negative values. There are literally 1000s of books out there for young children. It's actually very easy to find really good stories-- with beautiful illustrations - so there's no need to have to settle for this story.

Not since Wilbur of "Charlotte's Web" fame was labeled "Some Pig" have we seen a porcine protagonist as endearing as Olivia. This self-assured swine knows she's different than the rest of the sty and lives her uniqueness.

In "Olivia Saves the Circus", our heroine is confronted with the dreaded task of sharing her summer vacation with her class. Not content to live in reality, she fabricates a story in which she saves the day by taking on the roles of the trapeze artist, tattooed lady, and "Queen of the Trampoline" when the regular circus performers are done in by that scourge of children, ear infections. And despite her incredulous teacher, Olivia has the confidence to stick with her story. Does she realize it's an embellishment, if not a complete fraud? Well, yeah, but that's Olivia. If she believes it, it's real.

Ian Falconer has created a totally unique character in Olivia that also pays homage to previous literary little girls of the headstrong variety. She has sense of style outside the realms of reality (witness the Eleanor Roosevelt poster on her wall), but it's one that will appeal to both adults and children.

If there is any hesitation here (enough for the loss of a star) it's that usually dreamers like Olivia get some sort of comeuppance that helps them learn, but also allows them to stay dreamers. Instead, Olivia always manages to get a pass on correction. It's the world that is out of step, not her. Some might question how good a message that is to send to young children, while others might feel that cultivating a sense of the eccentric is needed for allowing children to explore their own personalities.

Still, no matter what you think, Olivia is here to stay and should prove to be a classic character.

I think the book Olivia Saves The Circus was a good children's book for young children with strong imaginations. I think that it taught kids how to be creative and inventive and showed kids that its ok to pretend sometimes. I think that young kids need books like these that are just silly sometimes and aren't out to teach a lesson all of the time like going to be on time or eating your food appropriately. Sometimes you need books for kids that are just about being silly.

If you child liked the other Oliver book, then why not this one?
If you have a used book place I'd search there first. This isn't the type of book the kid wants to read every night, but it makes for a good present as they like the cover. Otherwise, borrow it from the Library.

From the opening illustrations of her touching her toes to the foldout of her bouncing as Queen of the Trampoline, this sequel surpassed my expectations. The illustrations are a riot, and the story is way too much fun. What a beautiful, funny, imaginative book!

That's it. No need to say more. You have to read this book for yourself.

Olivia Saves the Circus. By Ian Falconer. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2001.
35 pages. (Ages 3-6)
Once again Olivia dazzles her readers in this sequel to Ian Falconer's 2001 Caldecott Honor Book Olivia. Olivia begins her daily routine with moving her cat, brushing her teeth, doing her exercises and even assisting her mother by making breakfast for her two little brothers before she goes off to school. After accessorizing her dull gray school uniform with bright red pieces, Olivia is ready to go, "Beep, beep - coming through," as she speeds away to school on her scooter.

Standing in front of the class Olivia captivates her listeners by reporting on her vacation as "Olivia always blossoms in front of an audience." Falconer portrays Olivia's little red accessories to stand out among the rest of the charcoal colored pictures. As Olivia begins telling her story about going to the circus, the colors of the pictures go from red to a salmon-pink where Olivia's vivid imagination kicks in. She impresses her audience with astounding feats of carrying out the acts of each circus person because "all the circus people were out sick with ear infections." Falconer portrays Olivia performing each circus person's acts in superb detail and Olivia becomes enthralled with her own outstanding performance. Olivia shining in the spotlight on the circus floor ends her fantasy vacation story with "And that's how I saved the circus. And now I am famous."

"Then one time my dad took me sailing The End," is portrayed by Falconer with Olivia entering back into reality in her red outfit with her only memory of a boring vacation. Olivia's teacher, having a difficult time believing her circus story, asks Olivia if the story is true. The witty Olivia answers "To the best of my recollection."

Falconer portrays a self-confident girl that teaches others how to use their imagination. His form of writing intermingled with his outstanding illustration ability, makes this wonderful book a learning tool that is sure to win over the hearts of many children, young and old alike.

Olivia's back, with another little brother (William) and her wonderful imagination. When asked to tell her class what she did on her summer vacation, Oliva easily reels off the story of how she went to the circus- where every single performer had an ear infection and couldn't perform. Who will save the circus? OLIVIA, of course! She becomes the tattoo lady, the lion tamer, the tightrope walker, etc. As usual, Ian Flaconer's hilarious illustrations make the story. I still enjoyed the first "Olivia" better, but this is a worthy sophomore effort.

I started buying the Olivia books after I gave birth to my own Olivia and absolutely love them! The first one I bought was Olivia Saves the Circus. The storyline is unique and is easy for young children to follow and interesting enough for older kids to enjoy. The illustrations and choice of limited color are very characterisic of Olivia books and stand out among other comparable children's stories. I recommend this book series highly!

Olivia Saves the Circus is a great sequel to Olivia. The black and white illustrations turn bright with spots of red. Olivia says she went to the circus but all the performers were out sick so she had to to all the acts. There are folding out pages for your kids. We would rate this book five stars.