When the Circus Came to Town ANNOTATION
An Asian cook and a Chinese New Year celebration help a ten-year-old girl at a Montana stage coach station to regain her confidence after smallpox scars her face.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Ursula always wanted to see the circus. That is, until she caught smallpox. Now all she wants is to hide her scarred face. But Ah Sam, her parents' Chinese cook, has other ideas. He brings to town a magical circus and finds a way to give Ursula the confidence she needs to face the world. In return, Ursula finds a way to make Ah Sam happy. She creates the biggest, best Chinese New Year celebration that Whistle, Montana, has ever seen!
Based on actual events that occurred in the early twentieth century, two-time Newbery Honor author Laurence Yep's novel captures both the overwhelming pain of being different and the simple comfort in finding the community to which you belong.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Yep leaves his oft-visited literary stomping grounds of San Francisco's Chinatown in this heartwarming historical tale based on real events. Ursula loves living in tiny Whistle, Mont., or what her Pa calls the Back of Beyond. She helps her parents run the stagecoach station, roams the wild hills and, after reading a penny dreadful that a stagecoach passenger leaves behind, invents a rollicking pirate adventure game with her friends. But everything changes after smallpox leaves her face deeply scarred. She retreats to her room: "Pirate Ursula was dead now. There was only Monster Ursula, and Monster Ursula did not go outside." When her parents hire a Chinese cook, he and Ursula find they share a sense of isolation, and gradually they become friends. Eventually, Ah Sam succeeds in coaxing Ursula out of her self-imposed exile when he invites his cousins to stage a circus. Ursula returns the favor: after a blizzard scuttles Ah Sam's plans to spend Chinese New Year in San Francisco, she rallies the whole town to plan an elaborate celebration of that holiday. Bolstered by themes of compassion, community and tolerance, this story is among Yep's most assured. With dry humor and a keen ear for dialogue, the author includes deft characterizations and offers a window onto Asian-American history and culture. Wang, who illustrated Yep's The Magic Paintbrush, contributes detailed b&w drawings that underscore the volume's more serious themes. Ages 8-10. (Dec.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Children's Literature
This two-time Newbery Honor author has used an actual memoir from 19th-century Montana to weave a tale of two who see themselves as outcasts--nine-year-old Ursula and Chinese cook, Ah Sam. Young Ursula is a smallpox survivor, but her face still shows embarrassing scars. Since Ah Sam is not a U.S. citizen, others treat him as though he doesn't "belong." The two become fast friends at the stagecoach station Ursula's parents run in Whistle, MT, where Ah Sam makes "the fluffiest pancakes in the West." When he succeeds in bringing a longed-for circus to his young friend, she forgets herself long enough to become a happy and useful part of it--and then organizes her own version of a snowbound Chinese New Year celebration to give him in return. Black-and-white drawings add the perfect nostalgic touch, and the inclusion of printed music and words to Ursula's favorite song, "Sweet and Low," introduces the dimension of sound into the story. Its focus on creating community and then feeling you belong to it is sorely needed in our multicultural, often dysfunctional and divided society. Having read the book, kids will look at their families and neighborhoods with new eyes and see them as places where respect and imagination work their own three-ring magic. 2002, HarperCollins Children's Books, $14.95 and $14.89. Ages 8 to 10. Reviewer: Earlene Viano
School Library Journal
Gr 3-6-Ten-year-old "Pirate Ursula" is the fearless leader of her playmates, but after she contracts smallpox and is left with significant facial scarring, she sees herself as "Monster Ursula." She becomes a recluse, never leaving her family's stagecoach station in early 20th-century Whistle, MT. Ursula is a very human child surrounded by mostly sympathetic adults. Through the efforts of the new Chinese cook, Ah Sam, she eventually finds the courage to rediscover Pirate Ursula. He and his family of acrobats help to heal not just the girl, but also the racial divides in Whistle, and Ursula finally understands that it is what is inside a person that matters most. Touches of humor and whimsy counter the darkness she feels about herself. That these events are based on fact enables readers to accept the fairly quick turnaround in the villagers' racist attitudes. Wang's evocative illustrations add to the flavor of this quick, absorbing read.-B. Allison Gray, South Country Library, Bellport, NY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
A story taken from real life provides the foundation for a tale of healing through human interconnection. Ursula is a ten-year-old girl with a big imagination and a love for her small Montana town, finding enough happy magic at home by leading her pirate crew in fanciful adventures in between helping her Pa at his stagecoach station. But when she survives a smallpox scare only to be left with a pitted face, vanity replaces her ebullient spirit and she won't leave her room. Pa hires Ah Sam, a Chinese cook, to help feed the passengers when the stages arrive. Her "curiosity bump" is larger than her prejudice against him, and the two soon find they share a common loneliness as well as a common love of the circus. She begins once again to help in the kitchen, although she still won't show her face outdoors. She faces a turning point, however, when a mean-spirited stage passenger harasses Ah Sam, who cannot retaliate because of state law. Ursula decides she must cheer up the now ashamed cook, realizing that they all share what Indian Tom calls "the mark" of outsiders. One kindness leads to another as Ah Sam's circus relatives arrive to entertain the town with their special magic while Ursula is enlisted to back them up with music. Yep (Newbery Honor, Dragon's Gate, 1994), has applied his considerable skills to embellish a true story into a moving parable of how people help each other overcome suffering. The simple plot uses perfectly believable characterizations to discuss deceptively complex emotions and issues for those who would mine its lessons, but Ursula's own story of healing is rewarding enough for those who read from the younger child's point of view. (Fiction. 8-10)
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