Earthly Astonishments [Hardcover]

Marthe Jocelyn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2000 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Meet Rosa, the Bearded Lady! Charley, the Albino Boy! See them all for yourself at R. J. Walters' Museum of Earthly Astonishments!

In 1883, there is no better place in the world to see exotic attractions than Coney Island, New York. Josephine lives in a little dot of a town called Westley. But her parents still can charge a penny to any visitor who wants to gawk at her. They also can sell her for an even better price to the MacLaren Academy for Girls, where Josephine scrubs and fetches and withstands mocking torment from the fine young ladies of the school.

One day Josephine takes four gold dollars from the schoolmistress and runs away. But she trades her freedom to belong to the famous R. J. Walters' "Natural Curiosity" show on the Coney Island boardwalk. He gives her a new name and a new identity--Little JoJo of Bohemia--but the crowds and the newspaper articles can't satisfy the hunger she has for a real family and a real home. In this beautifully evoked, wonderfully readable adventure story, an incredibly versatile writer creates a marvelously believable heroine from a time and place filled with many wonders.

Publishers Weekly hailed Marthe Jocelyn's first book, The Invisible Day, a "surefire crowd-pleaser" in a starred review. She is also the author of The Invisible Harry and wrote and illustrated Hannah and the Seven Dresses.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Jocelyn (The Invisible Day) ventures into historical fiction for this often vivid but incompletely realized novel set in 1884 New York City. Twelve-year-old Josephine measures only 28U" tall, but she has outsize adventures. For the past five years, she has slaved away at Miss McLaren's academy for girls, an establishment that recalls Miss Minchin's from A Little Princess for its cruelty and hypocrisy. Exploited past endurance, Josephine runs away. Immediately she meets one R.J. Walters, the owner of The Museum of Earthly Astonishments, which displays "curiosities," human and otherwise. Billed as Little Jo-Jo, the world's smallest girl, Josephine becomes a star attraction among the Coney Island amusement-seekers, and she also becomes friends with another of Mr. Walters's "astonishments," a 14-year-old albino boy. But evil Miss McLaren is not so easily left behind, and the plot becomes a tangle of melodramatic sequences in which Miss McLaren attempts at all costs to get Josephine back in her clutches. The characters are colorful but one-dimensional; Josephine, for example, seems less an individual than a contemporary heroine assigned a period setting and a midget's body, and even her extraordinary stature is not entirely reflected in her perceptions and personality. The abundance of historical details demonstrates that the author has researched her subject, yet the characters themselves do not seem lifelike. Ages 8-12. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8-Josephine's parents have always been slightly afraid of their daughter. By age seven, she measures all of 22 inches, so they jump at the opportunity when a shrewd headmistress from a New York City boarding school offers to take her in for hire. After five long years of abuse, the intelligent, hardworking girl runs away. After a perilous journey downtown, she is taken under the wing of a kindly barmaid, Nell, and Mr. R. J. Walters, the owner of the Museum of Earthly Astonishments-a glorified freak show. She moves into a squalid apartment with Nell and her albino son Charley, a "ghostly phenomenon." Under Mr. Walters's tutelage, Josephine is reborn as Little Jo-Jo, a refined lady of mysterious origins and creates a sensation in the press. The troupe moves to Coney Island for the summer, where she enjoys even greater success and a sense of belonging. Unfortunately, her notoriety prompts her former employer to attempt to retrieve her "property." After a big to-do, Josephine escapes the headmistress's grasp and realizes that she is ready to make her own fortune with Nell and Charley by her side. The protagonist is a compelling and sympathetic character with whom children will identify. The occasional use of letters, newspaper articles, and a billboard ad creates a feel for New York in the 1880s. However, the real story here is that while family isn't always found where it should be, it's okay to make one's own.
Carrie Schadle, Beginning with Children School, New York City
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; 1st edition (March 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525462635
• ISBN-13: 978-0525462637
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,515,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Earthly Delight, March 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Earthly Astonishments (Hardcover)

My daughter and I read this book together and loved it. Kids can really identify with Josephine, the heroine, because she is so small. This book is beautifully written and a truly literate delight. We loved the idea that people who are "different" can take control of their lives, and lead fulfilling ones. The author obviously did a great deal of research for this book and it shows. Since we live in New York City, we loved reading about Coney Island and what it was like in the late 1800s. My daughter and I recommend this book highly to everyone.