The Circus Lunicus

By Marilyn Singer

Solomom Yanish uncovers his family ties to a celestial circus in this quirky middle grade novel. Solly heard a noise coming from his closet. This time it wasn't a rattling. It was a small, spongy noise, like a balloon bobbing. Cautiously he opened the door. The plastic lizard was standing there, its feet in the trash can, its head grazing the top shelf. It looked at Solly with yellow eyes and spoke: Freeble, freeble, freeble. Solomon Yanish has it rough. His mother has disappeared from his life, his father is constantly away on business trips, and now Solly is stuck with two crabby stepbrothers and an evil stepmother he calls Old Staircase. What's worse, Solly can't seem to get a straight answer about his family's past. But who's keeping it from him, and why? Enter The Circus Lunicus, and Freeble -- a fairy godmother in shrink-wrapped disguise. Suddenly things start to make sense. Until some strange transformations begin . . . Can Solly uncover the mystery behind his heritage before the circus leaves town? This fast-paced novel is full of bizarre characters and surprising revelations. So forget what you know about the circus and grab a bucket of worms. Things are going to get weird...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805062688
• ISBN13: 9780805062687
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.8" x 6.4"
• Age Range: 10 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9

Customer Reviews

A quirky puzzle of a novel

A modern Cinderella, Solly lives with his stepmother Casey (aka Staircase) and his stepbrothers Jason & Mason while his dad grieves his first wife's loss overseas. In a life overrun by chores, Solly anticipates the coming arrival of a bizarre circus whose performers are rumored to be from outer space, but his stepmother forbids him to go to punish him for a crime he didn't commit. Solly luckily stumbles upon the circus as it is setting up, and before he knows it he is performing for the Ringmaster he idolizes, befriending a red haired girl who looks like his mom, and trying to discover why people only say his mother is gone, not dead. Singer's fast paced mystery has adventure, humor, and magic. Add talking lizards, a few spells, a giant guinea pig, mischievous stepbrothers, a mysterious scrapbook, and real spaceships, and you have a quirky puzzle of a novel that somehow comes together logically. The ending is a bit too neat, but satisfying nonetheless. Solly is a likeable character with appeal to both sexes - curious, sympathetic, and independent. He steps out of character once to cuss. Throughout the novel, Singer freely invents not only adjectives, but also a whole new lizard language - a creative curse would have fit nicely here. The brightly colored cover and festive fonts fit well with the circus theme. Offer to your Lemony Snicket fans for something a bit more cheery and less dreary and funny in an entirely different way.

Calling all CinderFELLAS...

For generations, girls have dreamed of having their problems magically put into focus via a fairy godmother, no matter how bleak their lives (with or without ugly-hearted step families) might be. Young MEN now have a hero in mysterious shoes, courtesy of charming and prolific children's author, Marilyn Singer. Thanks to an absentee mother, a work-weary father, a nasty stepmother and two creepy step bros, Solly has it tough. But stumbling on (and in) to the Circus Lunicus will definitely put a new spin on his odd little life. Peeking in on Solly's curious adventure is sure to delight readers from 8 to 10 (not to mention the grown-ups smart enough to snuggle up and read it with them).

Highly Imaginative and Funny

Writers have always been attracted to circuses and carnivals. Marilyn Singer is no exception. But in her circus, there's more going on than meets the eye (or claw). Solly, her main character, has been stepped on by life (and especially by his step mother and step brothers). But when the circus enters his life, along with various lizards, the scales start to tip in his direction. Why does the ring master seem to know so much about him? Who is the mysterious little girl he keeps running into? And why does his father have such a strange reaction to lizards? Everything is tied together with wit and humor, making this book a fun and satisfying read.