Following up on the first Olivia
book, Olivia Saves the Circus is even more fun and fanciful. Again, the colors used are white, gray,
black, pink and red, which is a very distinctive combination. After making pancakes for breakfast, (and
leaving the dishes for her mother to wash), Olivia eventually decides on what
to wear for the day and heads off on her scooter. She tells her class about her vacation, and she tells a tall
story about what happened when she went with her mother and brother Ian to the
circus. She didn’t sit in the audience,
but took over the whole place, becoming Olivia the Tattooed Lady, Olivia the
Lion Tamer, and best of all, she performs on the flying trapeze. The funniest picture is of Madame Olivia and
her Trained Dogs, because the dogs are not trained at all! Olivia is so full of life its impossible not
to be charmed by her, even when she insists on jumping up and down on her bed. The illustrations, rendered in charcoal and
gouache on paper, (surely with some assistance from a computer), are
fantastic. Highly recommended.

Categories: Children, ArtAndPhotography