Suzy Bowles wants her life to be exciting. She has no plan to stay in this tiny rural town any longer than she has to so when her uncle arrives and then heads off each day to an unknown destination, Suzy just has to follow along.
"Following Uncle Fred was probably the most exciting thing I'd done in my whole life, and I was only doing it because I could already see what a dang-blasted boring summer I was doomed to have."
Her discovery is amazing. Uncle Fred is working for a larger than life lady named Madame Maranette. Of all the possible things she might have you would never have expected ostriches (but of course you have seen the cover of this book!). Madame has a plan to make a world record by using one ostrich and one horse to pull her carriage at the St Joseph's County Fair parade. Over the next few months Uncle Fred has the task of training this crazy ostrich named Gaucho.
Suzy can see an opportunity here so huge it practically knocks her off her feet. IF she can ride this ostrich then someone might notice her and heck she might be asked to join the circus and thus escape Burr Oak.
I have had this book on my to-read list ever since I saw that the super talented librarian and blogger and podcaster Betsy Bird had written a NOVEL!! Here in Australia the hardcover edition of this book costs over AUS$35 and the paperback won't arrive until August SO when I was planning a trip away from home I decided to buy some ebook editions of books on my wish list and that meant I could include this one.
There are some wonderful descriptions in this book of the characters (teachers take note):
Madame - "Her perfectly coiffed hair was up, a sheer blinding white from root to tip, capped off with an enormous hat sporting what had to be an ostrich plume. She wore a velvet dress and jacket that suited her stature and poise. Her back was ramrod straight, giving her an imperious gaze ... "
I kept track of some of the delicious words used in this book - I think they might give you an insight into the flavour of this writing - the whole book has such a distinct voice:
no-good stinking brother; cool clear salve; ignoring my petulance; he stopped caterwauling; what the heck had distracted him from my vengeance; think twice about being a hooligan; complete and utter bafflement; esoteric knowledge; lessons on comportment; an ornery personality; patience for the rigmarole; flaunting my hijinks; corvid gleam; direst of circumstances.
You can read a generous book extract here.
Betsy Bird is a librarian - I love her descriptions of the librarians in her book, the enthusiasm of the library staff and even the temperature when you enter a library on a hot day:
"the temperature turned from light broil to a mere chill in just a few steps past the doorframe."
I highly recommend Long Road to the Circus. Pop it on your book wish list now. It would be a terrific book to read aloud in a classroom or a family and as a bonus some of it is TRUE!
Here is a long interview with Betsy talking about her book and you can see some of the illustrations too. She also imparts heaps of wisdom about libraries.
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