Olivia Saves the Circus

Rating:
Summary: How do you solve a problem like Olivia?
Review: To a child, tall tales are totally and entirely distinct from lies. When you ask a kid what happened at school and they launch into an interesting if implausible tale of bandits, pirates, and space aliens you are not expected to punish them for their creativity. Such a mindset is needed when reading "Olivia Saves the Circus" by Ian Falconer. The sequel to the highly charming if somewhat bizarre "Olivia", this book follows the familiar little pig as she invents a tale of derring-do and breathtaking wonder. Kids love Olivia because she has adventures (if only in her own mind) that they would like to have. Adults love her because her books are witty, urbane, and pleasant to the eye. And I love them because they're funny. This book in particular is a highly amusing story that, if it doesn't make you giggle, will at least raise the hint of a smile on your face. Few pig-related picture books do as much.

If you've ever met Olivia before then you know what to expect from her. She lives with her mom, dad, and two little brothers in (what we can only assume to be) New York City. A striking individual, Olivia excels at perking up her drab school uniform with an excessive amount of red accessories. This particular day at school, each child is to tell the class about his or her vacation. Through the eyes of our heroine we hear how the local circus was in town but, tragically, all the performers were sick with ear infections and could not perform. Luckily for them, Olivia was up to the challenge of fulfilling every available position. Before our very eyes she's a tattooed lady (with the aid of some magic marker), a lion tamer, a tight-rope walker, a juggler, a clown, a trapeze artist, and so much more. "And that's how I saved the circus. And now I am famous". The teacher, unsurprisingly, isn't buying. A cross-examination of Olivia comes up with the following dialogue: "Was that true?". "Pretty true". "All true?". "Pretty all true". "Are you sure, Olivia?". "To the best of my recollection". And so it's the end of a busy day for Olivia, star of the circus of her mind and a potential Queen of the Trampoline.

Olivia comes off as pretty cute in this book. In her subsequent adventure, "Olivia and the Missing Toy" she descends into downright brattiness, but at this point she's still likable. Pugnacious and precocious but adorable all the same. Falconer, as is his wont, limits his palette to blacks, whites, grays, and the occasional eye-popping red. There are also some mild pinks that appear in the circus sequences, but in the end the colors are limited to what Olivia wears and appears in. There is also the obligatory Eleanor Roosevelt poster in Olivia's room (undoubtedly placed there in the vain hope that children reading this book will want to know who she is and what her importance was).

Whether you like Olivia or find her unaccountably annoying, you have to at least concede that this particular book is probably her best work. It has grand flights of fancy, delightful animals, a fun plot, and a wink for parental readers. Kids like it, adults like it, and everyone concedes its well-writtenness (I know... not a word). It's a fun book and one that is bound to please whosoever you chose to give it to. If you select any Olivia book to read, this would definitely be the one.

Rating:
Summary: Imagination at its best!
Review: We've never met--to my knowledge--but Ian Falconer evidently knew me as a child. I was (and still am) this little girl. Today, children have forgotten the beauty of pretending and playing make-believe. This book introduces children to the limitless possibilities and joys of imagination. TV and X-box cannot compare. This is a story about a creative little girl being a creative little girl. Who wouldn't want a child with so much joi de vivre!



Rating:
Summary: I WANT TO BE OLIVIA!
Review: What a wonderful pig! So stylish! So capable! So wonderful.
Brings lightness and levity to one's home!
Love her.
Thank you Ian.



Rating:
Summary: Call me a fuddy duddy, but...
Review: Yes, okay, we parents can appreciate the humor, and yes, the drawings are pretty adorable and the pig is cute and it's a smart, snappy tale - but - but -
BUT
Has anyone bothered to notice that Olivia is basically miserable? That she is sarcastic and lonely? That her relationship with her mother is disconnected at best? (My wife, when reading the part where Olivia comes home from school and answers her mother's clearly rote question of how was school with the rote answer 'fine,' invariably adds, for the sake of our 2 and a half year old - 'but of course we don't do that, we tell Mommy all about our day, whatever happened, good or bad.' or words to that effect....)
I'm all for stories about sad people (or pigs), but it would help if we knew they were sad, not just given a lot of pop cultural whip-smarts and irony and cleverness and told that that is happiness. It isn't. If you read this book to your child, please: make it clear to them how isolated Olivia is. If you don't, you're liable to create your own miserable little clown - amusing now, but there will be hell to pay in later years....