The Circus Lunicus

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Overview

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, ...

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More About This Book

Overview

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...

Solly's stepmother forbids him to go the Circus Lunicus, but gives him an inflatable lizard that turns into his fairy godmother and teaches him how to turn into a space lizard as well.

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Singer (Deal with a Ghost) serves up an energetic but predictable male Cinderella story, with a supernatural twist. Ever since his mother's supposed death, 11-year-old Solomon Yanish has lived with his hard-edged stepmother, "Old Staircase," and his two stepbrothers, Jason and Mason. Old Staircase makes Solly do all the chores and rewards her lazy, bullying biological children with expensive gifts. His father, perpetually away on business, doesn't seem to care. But when the mysterious Circus Lunicus comes to town after a six-year absence, and Solly's toy lizard begins to grow to enormous proportions, Solly begins to suspect the truth: his mother was involved with the circus in mysterious ways. Freeble Komodeeble, once a lizard toy but now his fairy godmother, teaches Solly "Lizardry" and tells him secrets in a made-up dialect. For example, after transforming the malevolent stepbrothers into Solly's doting servants, she quips, "Just a weeble switchereeble." The climactic scene is utter mayhem--Solly himself calls it "bedlam"--with plot elements that are more over the top than Big Top. The strange activities of the circus will intrigue fantasy fans--even if they can guess the plot's resolution. Ages 10-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Children's Literature
Part mystery, part fantasy and part comical coming-of-age tale, The Circus Lunicus will no doubt be compared to the Harry Potter books. But this wildly entertaining tale has its own place in the universe—the kind of universe in which many kids would like to live. Magic is afoot when the Circus Lunicus, a mysterious and otherworldly performing group, returns to Mintzville. It exerts a particularly strange and strong pull on Solomon Yanish, a misunderstood boy with an absent father, a crabby stepmother and two bullying stepbrothers. Potter-esque, to be sure, but author Singer takes her story in a different, though just as fantastic, direction. As he figures out the mysteries of the circus, Solly learns that everyone has a reason for acting the way he does, which lets him understand—if not accept—the circumstances of his own life. Kids will be relieved, however, that Solly does get the chance to exact a little harmless revenge. Singer's dialogue is masterful, veering effortlessly from the talk of preteen boys to the unctuous voice of the Ringmaster to the eeble-speak of a recently reanimated lizard. 2000, Henry Holt. Ages 9 to 12. Reviewer: Donna Freedman
VOYA
There is very little cause for celebration in Solomon Yanish's life now that his mother is gone and his father is constantly away from the house on business. His stepmother and stepbrothers treat him with disdain. Solly is practically a prisoner in his own house. He has just one thing to look forward to—Circus Lunicus is returning to town. Solly fondly remembers going to the circus with his mother; that personal connection to this oddball circus is important to Solly. He is not quite sure why, but Solly knows that the circus holds an important secret for him. Alien circus performers, a rubber lizard that comes to life in Solly's closet, and a bucket of worms all hold the key to the secret Solly must uncover if he is to find happiness. Although the cover art might suggest that this book is for a much younger audience, it will take an experienced reader to catch all the nuances of this story, including the references to Cinderella. Do not dismiss the cover entirely, however, as it holds some clues to solving the mystery within its pages. The clues as well as a few red herrings are liberally scattered throughout the novel, enticing readers to try to solve the puzzle along with Solly. This blend of fantasy and mystery is humorous and fast paced, making it an ideal selection for reading aloud. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P M J (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2000, Henry Holt, 168p. Ages 12 to 15. Reviewer: Teri S. Lesesne VOYA, February 2001 (Vol. 23, No.6)
School Library Journal
Gr 4-6-Solly Yanish's dad is off again on yet another long, slightly mysterious business trip, leaving the boy at the mercy of his stepmother and two disagreeable stepbrothers. The only good thing to look forward to is the return of the magical Circus Lunicus. Just when it appears that he won't be able to go because of his many chores, a fairy lizard arrives-sounds like a fractured Cinderella, except that his mother is not dead as he had been told, but is the half-alien and half-human daughter of the circus Ringmaster. The opening chapters are charming, with references to the circus, mysterious developments, and a refreshingly multifaceted stepmother. Solly is a likable lad, and his stepbrothers have a few interesting quirks. As Freeble, the fairy lizard, begins to grow, the plot takes a turn downward. The creature's language, basically English with an "eeble" added to the end of many words, grows tiresome and the pacing becomes rather frantic with alien alligators and a convoluted conclusion. This offbeat novel should appeal to graduates of Jon Scieszka's "Time Warp Trio" tales (Viking). An even stronger humorous alien romp is Daniel Pinkwater's Lizard Music (Dell, 1996).-Marilyn Payne Phillips, University City Public Library, MO Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Solomon (Solly for short) has lots of problems: a mean stepmother, two inconsiderate and lazy stepbrothers, an absent father, and an unresolved longing for mothering. Sound familiar? He also has a fairy godmother, but not the usual sort with wishes and wings and a wand. Freeble is a six-foot-tall talking lizard who conquers the highest levels of computer games and teaches Solly to transform himself into a lizard, too. Singer has created a fantastic, funny, but believable world in which intelligent alligators from planet Reptilia transform themselves into human shape when they perform on earth in the Circus Lunicus. Singer's poetic talents are apparent in her language play with the talking lizard, who has an unusual but perfectly understandable manner of speaking. She skillfully weaves all the elements of the Cinderella mythic structure into her tale, along with the concept of a mother from another species who must return to her own kind. The story is told in short sentences and brief chapters with the appeal of a three-ring circus: laughter, suspense, and a little danger to keep the crowd wanting more. Solly wisely solves his own problems in his own way, finding hidden strengths within himself and help from unexpected sources, just like Cinderella. Luminous and humorous. (Fiction. 9-11)
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780805062687
  • Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
  • Publication date: 10/1/2000
  • Edition description: First Edition
  • Edition number: 1
  • Pages: 176
  • Age range: 10 - 14 Years
  • Lexile: 530L (what's this?)
  • Product dimensions: 6.38 (w) x 8.52 (h) x 0.74 (d)

Meet the Author

Marilyn Singer is the award-winning author of more than seventy books for young readers, including Deal with a Ghost, which was a finalist for the Edgar Award and A Dog's Gotta Do What a Dog's Gotta Do. She lives with her husband, three cats, two doves, a starling, and a standard poodle in Brooklyn, New York.

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