A VERY YOUNG CIRCUS FLYER

Krementz' latest very young star is a nine-year-old boy, and he can't be called privileged in the way that her dancer and rider were; nevertheless this has the same synthetic quality as its predecessors. In fact other youngsters can get closer to a young circus performer in Powledge's far less classy Born to the Circus (1976). Tato Farfan works for Ringling with his parents and older brother--together they're the Flying Farfans--and he tells us here about the inconveniences of traveling (the goldfish get motion-sick; the TV gets blurry), the fun of visiting the clowns and the animal trainer (brother Gino prefers to visit the showgirls, and--coyly--so would Poppy if he didn't have to work so hard), and the long hours of practice and performance. Appropriately, Krementz bursts into splendid color for a fifteen-page center spectacular showing the full circus cast performing in all their glitter. Hers is a less upfront type of razzle-dazzle.