19th May Circus Day

Some sites say 19th May, others, the third Saturday in April. No matter, today is my son's birthday and there was so much coming and going together with hilarity and noise that the house felt like a circus tent and I thought of circuses and went to see if such a day existed and amazingly it could be celebrated today. Very fitting I think!

Next I thought of books and was surprised that only two sprang readily to mind, Peter Spier's classic, Circus! and Lois Ehlert's geometric Circus. Then searching the library catalogue I learned that nearly all the other circus titles belonged to well-known series. There is a circus book for Spot, Clifford, Paddington, Olivia, Curious George, Miss Bindergarten, Cam Jansen, Harold (of Purple Crayon fame), Alison Lester's Bonnie and Sam, Nutmeg and Tumtum and even Spy Pups. And Dr Seuss even has If I Ran the Circus. Does this mean that the circus is something children like to read about and have experienced?

And the only new book I could find in the library was 10 Little Circus Mice by Caroline Stills and Judith Rossell. I guess if you are looking for something that makes you think more deeply about circuses and their role read Oregon's Journey by Rascal and Louis Joos. I find that this story of a bear and a clown who escape from the routine of the circus never fails to get my Year 2 students talking and asking questions. It is perfect for an Aidan Chamber's Booktalk and it works on so many levels, depending on the age of the students.

6th June Verna Aardema (1911 - 2000) Peter Spier (1927) Cynthia Rylant (1954)

Firstly Verna Aardema, the author responsible for that magnificent pourquoi story Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears. This retelling of a traditional West African folktale won the Caldecott Medal for illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon in 1976. The stories by Verna that have stayed in print and demanded rereading are those that are based on African folktales.

For me, Dutch-born American Peter Spier has a standout book as well, the illustrations in Phyllis Krasilovsky's The Cow that Fell in the Canal. I love the humour of this book and Henrika's quest to see and be more than she is. It is out of print but still easy to find second hand and in libraries. Of course he has illustrated many other books and the ones that he has authored as well, such as Noah's Ark, Rain and Circus are special because they tell wonderful stories with very minimal text. Noak's Ark won the 1978 Caldecott Medal.

Thirdly, is Cynthia Rylant who is also an American author. In the library there is a book called The Whales which Cynthia both wrote and illustrated, but I haven't seen any other books that are illustrated by her. I think of her more as a author and a wonderful one at that as my first introduction to her writing was her Newbery Medal winning novel, Missing May. This week I purchased Snow which is illustrated by Lauren Stringer and it too has beautifully poetic writing.