Picasso and the Greatest Show on Earth by Anna Fienberg

There is so much going on in the life of young Frances right now. She has moved to an outer suburb away from the busy city, to a home with a garden and lower rent. One special thing about this new place is the nearby bush.  But only a week after they arrive and begin unpacking that dad announces he has to travel overseas for his work as a journalist so now it is just Frances and her mum and the memory of her toddler brother Henry. Clearly something truly dreadful has happened to Henry but Frances is riddled with guilt and just does not want to revisit these terrible events.

Talking about this book I don't want to give too much away. You will work out some of the content from the labels I've assigned this post. Another way to introduce this book might be to look at the title. Moving to the new house means mum and dad decide to buy Frances a puppy. Picasso is her favourite artist and she has his painting Le Chien on her bedroom wall so the new pup is named Picasso. 

Visiting the beautiful Australian bush near her home Frances surveys the scene as the sun is setting and declares that moment - The Greatest Show on Earth. Here are some quotes from the text that will show you the highly evocative way Anna Fienberg describes the natural environment - trees, colours, light and shadow:

"The track turned into a spindly trail that zigzagged round rocks splotched with lichen. It was the palest olive green, thin as dried paint. ... On our right the creek trundled on, gathering into shallow pools, vanishing into mud. Trees towered above, filtering light that ended up as glitter on the water."

"After the rain the angophoras turned tangerine, their juicy pieces of bark smashed around their roots. I pressed my cheek against a massive trunk and the cold was startling."

Anna Fienberg has added some wonderful art insights into her book too - no doubt inspired by the late Kim Gamble. They met at the School Magazine where she was the editor. Kim Gamble illustrated The Magnificent Nose and Other Marvels by Anna Fienberg, which is a favourite book of mine, the Tashi series the Minton series and Joseph which was shortlisted for the 2002 CBCA Picture Book of the Year Award. 

All the art Kit and Frances create surely must link with the special relationship between Anna Fienberg and Kim Gamble. It is described with so much care:

"Crosshatching ... you create a hollow with shading by doing lots of parallel strokes one way, crossed with parallel strokes the other way."

"Kit let me share his chalk pastels and showed me how to make a twilight sky. I made notes of his instructions in my sketchbook ... At home I practised sky after sky. And I learned how to make a star sparkle.With white chalk you do the blue at the top, then take one dot and make it into a cross, smearing out the points into long white lines. When you stand back it sparkles."

I finished this book this morning having started it a couple of days ago and yes I did cry but that's okay because the happy, but not saccharine, ending restored me.  Anna Fienberg adds a wonderful layer of tension to the story. I just kept reading and reading even though I knew something dreadful was going to happen. This is a five star book. It is Australian in so many ways but it is also such a heartfelt human story.

Thinking about this story one word that came to my mind was consequences. Frances is obsessed with germs and diseases because she see this as a consequence of her action or inaction with her brother Henryre. Kit worries about consequences too. He cannot reveal anything about his house or mother because in the past the consequences were dreadful. Then there is the consequence of a tiny decision Frances makes when she makes a sketch of her friend. (When you are reading this book take your time over page 140-141). 

This story is also about personal growth. We watch the trust between Kit and Frances grow and both find a way to trust each other with their deepest secrets and sadness. Kit also has such emotional maturity and his gentle advice to Frances is uplifting

Someone asked about the themes in this book on a Facebook forum and whether it was too confronting for an eleven year old reader. I’d be happy to have this book in my primary school library but I’d be recommending it to mature Grade 6 readers. Yes it’s sad and yes grief and the death of a sibling and mental health are BIG topics but that’s okay. The writing is wonderful. You just feel as though you are right in the bush with all the sounds and smells and light and shade. This is a long book so really only kids with good reading stamina and the right level of maturity will persevere. I’m sure this book will go on to win many awards and be on short lists.

This book is like a warm, comforting hug when you need a friend, and I found myself wanting to read on to find out what had happened yet at the same time, it felt like one to savour and sit with so my reading pace could match France’s pace as she slowly revealed what had happened to her brother. The Book Muse

The different ways grief is expressed is a significant theme throughout this novel but there are other important ideas upon which to reflect such as family, bullying, courage, the healing provided by nature, dogs and art therapy and loneliness. Just So Stories

After reading Picasso and the Greatest Show on Earth you might like to revisit these classic Australian stories:

I do wish we could see the mural created by Kit and Frances but keen artists might like to look a little further into the art of Wang Wei.

It would be interesting to compare Picasso and the Greatest Show on Earth with a 2001 novel by Anna Fienberg - Witch in the Lake. I did read that one many years ago but sadly I cannot recall much of the plot. Other companion books: