BIG-TOP CIRCUS

An exploration of one of the last of a vanishing breed of travelling entertainments—the Clyde Beatty-Cole Brothers Circus. Johnson (Jack Creek Cowboy, 1993, etc.) goes behind the scenes during the setting up of the big top and follows performers in their off moments as well as center ring. Skillful full-color photographs depict some of the excitement, and special terms (defined in context) give the sense of just how exotic circus life is. The text is broad and understandably superficial in scope; such an introduction should not have to dig into every aspect of its subject. But when Johnson does get specific, as in explaining how a young woman hangs by her hair, the information is so fresh and unusual as to make the rest of the book mundane by comparison. (Picture book/Nonfiction. 4-8)