Earthly Astonishments [Paperback]

Marthe Jocelyn (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

In the late nineteenth century, in a dot of a town called Westley, lives the smallest girl in the world. Josephine stands only twenty-two inches high and her parents charge gawkers a penny a piece to see her – until they realize that the headmistress of MacLaren Academy for Girls will pay even more.

At the Academy Josephine is treated like a slave and is tormented by the fine young ladies who attend, until she takes five gold dollars and runs away. She finds a new life with R. J. Walters’ Museum of Earthly Astonishments. Among the other human curiosities in the Coney Island freak show, Josephine finds the family she has never known…and dangers greater than any she’d ever dreamed.

This riveting novel of adventure and injustice, new in paperback, has received many honors, including selection as a finalist for the Canadian Library book of the Year for Children Award, and as a shortlisted title for the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award and the Red Cedar Book Award.


From the Hardcover edition.

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. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Tundra Books (February 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887766285
• ISBN-13: 978-0887766282
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.5 x 7.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,120,953 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.