DIY Circus Lab for Kids

April 1, 2018

Gr 7 Up-If readers have ever wanted to join the circus or learn how to juggle, walk a tightrope, or become a clown, this title can help them do just that. The author has been involved with circus activities for many years and has designed this guide for the novice who yearns to learn how to do tricks worthy of the big top. She concentrates on activities involving toss juggling, balance, partner acrobatics, human pyramids, and clowning. Within each area she explains how to make props, the history of the activity, and how it can be a benefit to kids in life and not just in the circus. She stresses how to be safe as learners master the tricks described. A web link is given for online tutorials on how to create the props and learn the skills. These videos are well done, with step-by-step directions, but currently they do not include instructions for every prop and skill listed. The design is very attractive with fonts and blocks of color that enhance the text, as well as colorful photos of kids in action. VERDICT A well-conceived how-to book that may not have broad appeal but is ideal for collections where tweens and teens want to learn how to put on a show.-Elizabeth Kahn, Patrick F. Taylor Science & Technology Academy, Avondale, LA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 30, 2018
Davis, a former mime and founder of several circuses, offers a playful primer. Chapters focus on acrobatics, acrobalance, and pyramids; balance arts; clowning; gyroscopic juggling; and toss juggling; among other topics (aerial skills are mentioned but not included, for safety reasons). Readers are invited to make circus props and supplies, including juggling sticks, hoops, clown hats, and stilts. Through bright photographs of kids and detailed instructions, Davis demonstrates how each tool plays a role within the larger circus context, and a section titled “Making a Show” advises readers on how to integrate the pieces into a cohesive performance. Davis notes that the “circus is for everyone”—an inclusive message echoed by the activities, which align with different ability levels and interests, from tight rope walking to designing T-shirts. Ages 9–14.

Starred review from May 15, 2018
Grades 4-8 *Starred Review* This circus guide has a professional bent, taking a serious but enthusiastic approach to learning skills and making apparatuses, and doing these things safely. It also emphasizes important social and emotional competencies that the circus arts can foster, such as communication, self-awareness, relationship building, and responsible decision making. Davis is a longtime circus instructor and her experience is immediately evident in her clear instructions, which are broken into written steps with photo illustrations featuring actual youth circus artists, while website links provide video demonstrations of prop/apparatus construction and the skills themselves. The book is divided into units by movement type: spinning and flowing (juggling sticks, diabolo, hoop, poi, toss juggling), balance (rola bola, stilts, tightrope), partner acrobatics and human pyramid, and clowning. The skills featured can all be done safely alone or with a partner or spotter. Many of the construction projects are advanced, requiring adult assistance and a trip to the hardware store, but several can be done cheaply and easily, such as making poi, juggling balls, and a clown nose. Once aspiring performers have unlocked the ABCs (Achievable Basic Competency) of a skill or two, Davis walks them through how to pull a show together, covering everything from act order to costumes. Appendixes offer additional resources and information on youth and social circus. A niche but exemplary resource.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)