Amanda Joins the Circus
illus. by David Wisniewski
HarperCollins, 1999
out of print; look for this book at your favorite library or used bookstore
Don’t miss the sequel!
if you liked this book, try:
What’s this book about?
Awesome! That’s the only word Amanda the raccoon can think of to describe the circus, and she’s determined to join it as a clown. Her brother, Phillip, wants to join the circus, too. But the two raccoons don’t know there’s someone who plans to close the circus down—and they’re headed for a showdown in the center ring.
Story Behind the Story
When I was a boy living in New York City, one of the newspapers that came into the house was the Herald Tribune. Every day the newspaper printed a chapter of a serial story by Thornton W. Burgess. These were animal tales, illustrated by Harrison Cady, and they went on for years. I loved them. Moreover, I could buy the complete story from a neighborhood used book dealer for twenty-cents a book—the first books I ever bought on my own.
Serialization made a deep impression on me. Years later when I moved to Colorado and a small town which had its own newspaper, I suggested to them the idea of a serialized story. They were interested and, as a result, I wrote Keep Your Eye on Amanda. That in turn led to the creation of Breakfast Serials, and the publication of many serial stories by many writers. At its high point it reached thirty-five million readers! Amanda Joins the Circus was the second serial book I wrote.
Don’t miss the sequel!
if you liked this book, try: