An Orphan. A freed slave. A circus boat.
An historical adventure novel

About the book:
In 1852 Pittsburgh, twelve-year-old Owen leaves his brother on a westward-bound orphan train and strikes out on his own. When he steals aboard a circus boat that's docked in town, he has nothing more in mind that catching a peek at the show. But then a free black man named Solomon offers to take him on as an assistant animal keeper, and as the boat heads south, Owen discovers a kind of family in the ragtag members of the circus- including an elephant named Little Bet. A brush with yellow fever in New Orleans and a devastating storm threaten the boat and its crew. But the meance of slave catchers poses the greatest danger of all and will put Owen's loyalty to Solomon to the test.

The Floating Circus by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
Publication Date: July, 2008
Ages: 9-12
ISBN-13: 978-1-59990-185-5
ISBN-10: 1-59990-185-4
208 pages
$15.99

Bloomsbury Children's Books
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
 

Tracie Vaughn Zimmer has been a special education teacher and reading specialist. She is also the author of the poetry collections Sketches from a Spy Tree, 42 Miles. Her novel in verse, Reaching for Sun, won the Schneider Family Book Award and was named a Book Sense Best Book. She is also the creator of more than 200 guides to children's literature. Tracie lives outside of Cincinnati, Ohio with her family.