Customer Reviews

Olivia Saves The Circus Journal #1

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I am here to buy this book and it's predecessor. We picked up Olivia Saves the Circus at the library, and now I have to buy one because we can't renew it anymore! My son is only 16 months old, but he gets very excited when he sees this book come out at bedtime. One night I gathered up a few books to read before bed, and Olivia wasn't in the stack. He looked over the books, then scooted into the living room and returned with Olivia Saves the Circus, asking (in his own way) that it be read. Now he insists that it is part of his bedtime ritual. If I don't have it in the stack of bedtime books, he finds it and brings it along. And when we get to the trampoline part, he always throws up his hands and says, "Wow!" And both his father and I love it, too. The illustrations are wonderful, and the whole character of Olivia - her bold self-confidence, her independent spirit and imagination - is very charming. My favorite part is the end - "Maybe..." I love a pig who's sure of herself...

Roll out the red carpet, and welcome back Olivia. It's only fitting. Red is, after all, her favorite color. With OLIVIA and now OLIVIA SAVES THE CIRCUS, Olivia joins Wilbur
of CHARLOTTE'S WEB and Napoleon of ANIMAL FARM in the pantheon of great pigs in literature. Olivia would no doubt agree.

Similar in structure to the first book, this is a day in the life of Olivia, and Walter Mitty's got nothing on this little piggy. It is Olivia's turn to tell the class about her
vacation. She goes to the circus, but all the performers are out with ear infections. Luckily Olivia knows how to do everything, and in her outsized imagination that's precisely what she does.

Ian Falconer's wry, understated text and whimsical, expressive artwork are a perfect match, each fleshing out Olivia in its own way, complementing each other without ever becoming redundant. Olivia is artsy. She's crafty. She's a bundle of joy. She's a handful. She rocks. She rolls. She rules. She's not afraid to dream big dreams. She's her own pig, and that's why we love her.

It's Olivia's turn to tell the class about her vacation, and she can't wait. "Olivia always blossoms in front of an audience." And so our feisty little pig begins the story about her day at the circus. Of course, all the performers were out sick with ear infections, but "luckily I knew how to do everything." She tames lions and walks tightropes, performs on stilts, juggles, and even rides a unicycle. Then she clowns, swings high on the trapeze, and is Queen of the Trampoline. Finally, she ends her show as Madame Olivia and her trained dogs. "And that's how I saved the circus. And now I am famous." Olivia is very proud. Her teacher is exasperated. "True?", she asks again and again. "Yes, to the best of my recollection", answers Olivia..... Ian Falconer has bettered last year's, Olivia, debut, and fans won't be able to get enough of this adorable and precocious little pig with her queen-size imagination. His witty, yet simple text is kept to a minimum and really captures the preschool mind. But it's his charming and clever charcoal artwork, with just a creative splash of color here and there to highlight his scenes, that really makes this book stand out. Both children and adults will laugh out loud at the antics of this delightful little heroine. Perfect for youngsters 3-7, Olivia Saves the Circus is a must for home libraries and a picture book kids will beg to read again and again. Olivia is back and better than ever!

To a child, tall tales are totally and entirely distinct from lies. When you ask a kid what happened at school and they launch into an interesting if implausible tale of bandits, pirates, and space aliens you are not expected to punish them for their creativity. Such a mindset is needed when reading "Olivia Saves the Circus" by Ian Falconer. The sequel to the highly charming if somewhat bizarre "Olivia", this book follows the familiar little pig as she invents a tale of derring-do and breathtaking wonder. Kids love Olivia because she has adventures (if only in her own mind) that they would like to have. Adults love her because her books are witty, urbane, and pleasant to the eye. And I love them because they're funny. This book in particular is a highly amusing story that, if it doesn't make you giggle, will at least raise the hint of a smile on your face. Few pig-related picture books do as much.

If you've ever met Olivia before then you know what to expect from her. She lives with her mom, dad, and two little brothers in (what we can only assume to be) New York City. A striking individual, Olivia excels at perking up her drab school uniform with an excessive amount of red accessories. This particular day at school, each child is to tell the class about his or her vacation. Through the eyes of our heroine we hear how the local circus was in town but, tragically, all the performers were sick with ear infections and could not perform. Luckily for them, Olivia was up to the challenge of fulfilling every available position. Before our very eyes she's a tattooed lady (with the aid of some magic marker), a lion tamer, a tight-rope walker, a juggler, a clown, a trapeze artist, and so much more. "And that's how I saved the circus. And now I am famous". The teacher, unsurprisingly, isn't buying. A cross-examination of Olivia comes up with the following dialogue: "Was that true?". "Pretty true". "All true?". "Pretty all true". "Are you sure, Olivia?". "To the best of my recollection". And so it's the end of a busy day for Olivia, star of the circus of her mind and a potential Queen of the Trampoline.

Olivia comes off as pretty cute in this book. In her subsequent adventure, "Olivia and the Missing Toy" she descends into downright brattiness, but at this point she's still likable. Pugnacious and precocious but adorable all the same. Falconer, as is his wont, limits his palette to blacks, whites, grays, and the occasional eye-popping red. There are also some mild pinks that appear in the circus sequences, but in the end the colors are limited to what Olivia wears and appears in. There is also the obligatory Eleanor Roosevelt poster in Olivia's room (undoubtedly placed there in the vain hope that children reading this book will want to know who she is and what her importance was).

Whether you like Olivia or find her unaccountably annoying, you have to at least concede that this particular book is probably her best work. It has grand flights of fancy, delightful animals, a fun plot, and a wink for parental readers. Kids like it, adults like it, and everyone concedes its well-writtenness (I know... not a word). It's a fun book and one that is bound to please whosoever you chose to give it to. If you select any Olivia book to read, this would definitely be the one.

Falconer's second Olivia book is as charming and fun as the first. The illustrations perfectly capture Olivia's imagination and determination in her story of a daring circus performance. The four page spread of her jumping on the trampoline is terrific. I have never seen a more satisfied pig!

One of my favorite lines reads, "Olivia always blossoms in front of an audience." She, of course, knows how to do everything.

Highly recommended.

I understand why some parents do not put Olivia on their bookshelves. She's a really bad influence. For one, she's a flagrant liar. I can't abide her haughty attitude. After reading this book, my daughter got ahold of my black eyeliner and decided to become "the tattoo lady." But that's the hook right there... for better or for worse, the Olivia books have excited her imagination unlike any other picture books we've read so far.

Not bad for a story about a pig.

My four year old loves Olivia -- and what a grand adventure this book takes her on! I really appreciate the picture of Eleanor Roosevelt hanging above Olivia's bed -- a fantastic role model for young girls (and boys)! Also, it's great to hear my daughter explain to her friends who exactly Eleanor Roosevelt is -- even better than when she identified the Pollack painting in "Olivia."

I do think however this is a harder book to comprehend than the first "Olivia." My four year old has a hard time with the concept of telling a "tall tale." As much as she loves the book, she questions me about the small print/font at the end of Olivia's "tale," and does not understand that Olivia is using her "small" voice because she deems what she really did as not as exciting.

Keep in mind however that this is a parents point of view -- full comprehension or not, she loves this book (and so do I)!

I just finished reading this book and I laughed the entire way through. It's clever, charming and very very funny. This is one of those books when your child ask you to read over and over you won't mind. I'm buying this book for my almost four year old for Hanukkah, but I'm not sure if I can wait till December to read it to him!

Reading to your child is great for both of you. Your child will learn new things, become a better reader, and have an increased interest in reading. You will both enjoy a stronger bond as well. Olivia Saves the Circus is a fine book for these purposes.

This book is superb for prereaders as well as beginning readers. The wonderful charcoal and gouache illustrations make the story easy to follow and memorize for the nonreader, and provide helpful clues to the words for the new reader. My guess is that while this book will appeal to both girls and boys, very few girls will fail to be charmed by its profile of a very self-confident young lady pig.

If you loved Olivia, you will probably be delighted with Olivia Saves the Circus. If you haven't read Olivia, Ian Falconer does a nice job of establishing Olivia's personality in this book's beginning so that you can enjoy Olivia Saves the Circus without having read Olivia. The combination of Ian Falconer's words and illustrations come together to create many subtle effects that many will not notice until the fourth or fifth reading.

I think of Olivia as Miss Piggy in a family, and Olivia carries on those qualities again here. Olivia is independent, self-confident, and unfazed by anything.

On the inside of the front and back covers, Olivia "walks" the cat by bodily carrying the cat in and out of an area behind two doors, while leaving both doors wide open.

In the opening scene, Olivia is making breakfast. "Before school, Olivia likes to make pancakes for her new little brother, William, and her old little brother, Ian." "This is a big help to her mother." The two accompanying illustrations show two happy little boys chowing down . . . and then a kitchen sink area covered with dirty pots and pans with spills everywhere!

Next, Olivia gets ready for school, disliking her plain gray plaid and white uniform. "Of course you can always accessorize." And she adds red ribbons to her ears, a red pocketbook, red and white tights and undershirt with the arms showing, a red back pack and a red helmet. Red clothes are strewn all over her room. She heads to school on her little scooter, "Beep, beep -- coming through."

This is her day to tell about her summer vacation. Two events happened. "One day my mother took Ian and me to the circus." "But when we got there, all the circus people were out sick with ear infections." "Luckily I knew how to do everything."

Olivia is shown riding into the big top on the head of a an elephant leading a string of others. She takes her clothes off and uses a marker to be the Tattooed Lady. She is the Olivia the Lion Tamer, by roaring at the lion and cowing it. Next, she appears as Olivia, the Tight-rope Walker. "And I walked on stilts and juggled and was Olivia the Clown and rode a unicycle."

Her biggest event involved being Flying Olivia on the trapeze, who fell to a trampoline (becoming Queen of the Trampoline), bounced up and down, and flew back up onto the trapeze to complete her aerial performance. These six pages are brilliantly combined. You start with the two trapeze pages (numbers one and six in the sequence) facing each other, then when you open the two pages, you will find the connecting four pages (numbers two through five in the sequence) involving the trampoline. Children will go wild for this section!

"And that's how I saved the circus, and now I am famous."

The summer's second event was less dramatic. "Then one time my dad took me sailing. The End."

"Was that true?" was Olivia's teacher's question. "Pretty true." "All true?" "Pretty all true." "Are you sure, Olivia?"

"To the best of my recollection."

Arriving home, Olivia's mother asks her what went on in school that day. "Nothing." (Do you every hear that?)

When it's time to go to bed, Olivia isn't sleepy. Her mother cautions her not to jump on the bed, and then catches Olivia doing in mid-air. "Who do you think you are -- Queen of the Trampoline?" "Maybe."

As you can see, this book deals with reality and fantasy. To make the separation clearer to the young reader, Olivia is garbed in red whenever real events are occurring and in pink when fantasy is involved.

All children should be encouraged to use their imaginations, and this book gives parents a chance to discuss when and where it's appropriate to share fantasies. Certainly, fantasy shouldn't be passed off as reality as Olivia tries to do here. I also liked the way the book shows how Olivia uses the events in her daily life as a springboard for her day dreams. While reading this book together with your child, you can develop a joint fantasy involving some ordinary object or event. You might even enjoy writing your own Olivia story with your child about what Olivia did on another school vacation, building on your child's experiences, interests, and imagination.

Olivia has a picture of Ms. Eleanor Roosevelt in her bedroom. Be sure to take some time to introduce Ms. Roosevelt to your child, and to explain why Olivia might admire this great person. What other great people have you told your child about?

And that's all, folks . . . to the best of my recollection (I had to put in that little adult humor here about famous peoples' memories under oath).

My daughter IS Olivia, just named Andrea instead. I love and cherish this book and it's original one. I plan on keeping it and showing it to grandchildren someday while explaining what their mother was like. Olivia herself continues to be such an independent original in this book. Her imagination and activities come from a pure heart, most of the time, and is soooo preschooler. Olivia is one of those "pigs" that is a challenge to parent at times yet you can't help but appreciate and chuckle over her unique gifts and charms. I think most preschoolers are charmed by the circus so it's easy for them to relate to the story. I like seeing a strong female personality represented, too. I give this book a big thumbs up, especially if you have your own version of Olivia at home. I hope there are more adventure's of Olivia to come.