The Floating Circus by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer

Summary: In this historical fiction which takes place in the 1850's we meet 12 year old orphaned Owen. Leaving his younger brother, Zach behind to be adopted Owen is saved and befriended by a freed slave, Solomon. Solomon lives and works on the River Palace, a circus on a riverboat. The two work side by side cleaning animal stalls and performing other manual labor. Owen's new family consist of Solomon, the circus performers, and the Greene family who have a son Caleb. Caleb teaches Owen how to set type in a printing press. When the riverboat suffers a great fire and all of the contents are auctioned off, Owen must decide whether to return to his brother, go and live with the Greene family or remain in the circus business.

Comments: I liked Owen. I was rooting for him to survive not only his harsh life but to survive this frightening time during history. Reviews suggest that Owen seems too insightful for his age. The setting was fascinating. I experienced it through sight, sound, and smell.

There are some violent scenes. Men pay Lord Hathaway, the owner of the floating circus money to board the boat to feed live animals to ravenous lions. In another scene a runaway slave boards the riverboat and is hunted down by slave catchers. Owen gets caught in the middle. He sees the slave and when questioned he lies to the slave catchers about his sighting. Had he been charged for aiding a slave under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1950, he could have faced 6 months in prison and a hefty fine.

Author's note includes history of the floating circus, general history of the circus including Dan Rice "whose distinctive looks were the inspiration for the "Uncle Sam" figure", slavery during that time and the break out of yellow fever in New Orleans.

Audience: 5th-6th grade and up