Read about the things you can find at the circus! Perfect for 1st grade students, this book teaches these 5 words from Fry's First 100 words list: see, we, will, a, and not. The short sentences and clear images support the text to help with memorization. The rebus pictures and simple text build grade 1 reading comprehension in a format that is appealing to children. Beginning readers will learn the essential sight words and gain confidence as they...

William L. Slout, circus historian par excellence, here provides six essays on the development of the American circus. "From Rags to Ricketts: The Roots of Circus in Early Gotham" looks at the beginnings of circus entertainment in old New York City during the eighteenth century. "The Great Roman Hippodrome of 1874: P. T. Barnum's 'Crowning Effort'" describes the great showman's grand experiment: the collection and display in the Big Apple of the "largest...

A history of the circus from its origins in the Roman times, through its establishment in Western Europe, and to the modern day circus-absolutely diverse and captivating Circuses have existed since Roman times, but centuries later, the circus world has never been more diverse and captivating, the global success of Cirque du Soleil testament to its enduring and universal appeal. Traditional family circuses for kids, arty cirque-style shows for adults,...

The nineteenth century was the golden age of the circus in Ohio. Before the Ringling brothers became synonymous with the American circus, Cincinnati's John Robinson and the Sells brothers of Columbus wowed audiences with stunning equestrian feats and aerial exploits. For good measure, the Sells brothers threw in a sharpshooting show with a young Ohio woman by the name of Annie Oakley. The Walter L. Main Circus of Geneva and a number of smaller shows...

The first comprehensive 'biography' of one of the first celebrity animals who gave us one of our favourite words. Jumbo, Victorian England's favourite elephant, was born in 1861 in French Sudan, imported to a Parisian zoo and later sold on to London, where – for seventeen years – he dutifully gave children rides and ate buns from their hands, all the while being tortured at night to keep him docile. Worldwide fame came when he was bought by the...

Sonora Carver was an American entertainer, most notable as one of the first female horse divers. Carver answered an ad placed by "Doc" William Frank Carver in 1923 for a diving girl and soon earned a place in circus history. Her job was to mount a running horse as it reached the top of a forty-foot (sometimes sixty-foot) tower and sail down along the animal's back as it plunged into a deep pool of water directly below. Sonora was a sensation and soon...

From ancient Egypt to the modern-day circus, the role of the clown can be traced throughout history. But how much do you really know about the profession that takes comedy very seriously? This fascinating book takes the reader on a journey through the ages, explaining how clowns such as the whiteface and auguste came to be. You'll read about history's best-loved performers such as Joseph Grimaldi, the father of modern clowning, and learn about the...

Beneath the Big Top is a social history of the circus, from its ancient roots to the rise of the 'modern' tented travelling shows. A performer and founder of a circus group, Steve Ward draws on eye-witness accounts and contemporary interviews to explore the triumphs and disasters of the circus world. He reveals the stories beneath the big top during the golden age of the circus and the lives of circus folk, which were equally colourful outside the...

Seventeen-year-old Oregon teenager Kelsey forms a bond with a circus tiger who is actually one of two brothers, Indian princes Ren and Kishan, who were cursed to live as tigers for eternity, and she travels with him to India where the tiger's curse may be broken once and for all.

Christmas is a time for family, and if you spend one with the Binewskis, you'll never look at the family unit in the same way again. Geek Love is the story of the Binewskis, a carny family whose mater- and paterfamilias set out with the help of amphetamine, arsenic, and radioisotopes to breed their own exhibit of human oddities. There's Arturo the Aquaboy, who has flippers for limbs and a megalomaniac ambition worthy of Genghis Khan...Iphy and Elly,...