When the Circus Came to Town

Rating:
Summary: Chinese New Year in Whistle, Montana
Review: When the Circus Came to Town is a quick, enjoyable read. The illustrations are well done and the setting of Whistle, Montana comes to life with Yep's vivid description of the people and the surrounding mountains. The story has two main characters. Ursula is a young girl who at the beginning of the story leads her friends in adventures and play. She calls herself "Pirate Ursula." Ah Sam is a Chinese immigrant who comes to help Ursula's parents as a cook for their restaurant and stage coach depot. Early on in the story Ursula becomes sick with the smallpox. Her face is disfigured, and she refused to leave her room. Her friends come to the window and beg for "Pirate Ursula" to come and play, but her fear of being stared at makes her stay inside. Ah Sam, who also endures taunts and stares for being Chinese and looking different, befriends Ursula and teaches her how to cook. As Ursula becomes more and more confident in the kitchen she begins to come out of her shell. During the course of the story Ursula and Ah Sam exchange gifts - the most elaborate gift comes from Ah Sam in the form of a Chinese Circus. To bring Ursula outside Ah Sam asks his cousins to come to Whistle to perform. The show is quite a hit, and the townspeople welcome the Chinese performers with open arms. When the weather turns bad the performers cannot leave in order to arrive in San Francisco for Chinese New Year. Ursula and the townspeople work together to put on a Chinese New Year in Whistle. When the Circus Came to Town is well written and the dialogue flows smoothly. Tom, the Native American stagecoach driver, is an interesting character. Yep wrote the story based on events that really happened.

Rating:
Summary: When the Circus Came to Town
Review: When the Circus Came to Town
By: Laurence Yep
...

The story is about a girl named Ursula who has always wanted to see a circus. That is, until she caught smallpox, which made small holes in her cheek. Now all she thinks about and wants is to hide her scarred face. All this changes when Ursula's parents hire a Chinese cook named Ah Sam. He brings to town a magical circus and finds a way to give Ursula the courage she needs to face the world. After the circus Ursula confidently goes outside knowing nobody will laugh at her anymore. She sees that Ah Sam is unhappy and asks why. He replies with the blizzard he won't be able to go to China to celebrate Chinese New Year. Ursula decides to repay Ah Sam for his kindness and creates the biggest, best Chinese New Year celebration that Whistle, Montana, has ever seen.

I have many reasons why I liked this book. One of the reasons I liked this book is because Ah Sam taught Ursula that it does not matter what you look like on the outside.The second reason I liked this book is because Ursula knew that Ah Sam helped her a lot by giving her the confidence to go outside so she repaid him by creating the Chinese New Year in Whistle, Montana. The third reason I like this book is because it teaches you that you shouldn't judge a person by their nationality because in the story Ursula thought all Chinese people were bad, but Ah Sam proved her wrong with his kindness.

The fourth reason I like this book is because Ursula got to experience a different culture or style of life. For example on Chinese New Year they had to cut a little bit of their hair, do Chinese dances, parade around in a dragon, light up fire crackers, and feast. The fifth reason I like this book is because I like circuses, which are amazing and have things like acrobats, jugglers, clowns, animals, and animal trainers. If I had to grade this book on a scale from 1 to 10 I would give this book a 10.

My favorite part of the book was when Ah Sam's cousins came to town to put on the circus. Their names were Ah Bing, Ah Loo, and Lung. On the day of the circus Ah Loo stuck a sword down her mouth and pulled it back out without cutting her insides. Then she spit fire out her mouth. Ah Bing pulled eggs out from behind people in the audience's ears. Ah Sam juggled balls, knives, a boot, a turnip, and a hat all at one time. For the grand finale Ah Bing, Ah Loo, and Lung began to turn into letters. All together they spelled out "Thank You, Ursula."

Rating:
Summary: When the Circus Came to Town
Review: When the Circus Came to Town
By: Laurence Yep
...

The story is about a girl named Ursula who has always wanted to see a circus. That is, until she caught smallpox, which made small holes in her cheek. Now all she thinks about and wants is to hide her scarred face. All this changes when Ursula's parents hire a Chinese cook named Ah Sam. He brings to town a magical circus and finds a way to give Ursula the courage she needs to face the world. After the circus Ursula confidently goes outside knowing nobody will laugh at her anymore. She sees that Ah Sam is unhappy and asks why. He replies with the blizzard he won't be able to go to China to celebrate Chinese New Year. Ursula decides to repay Ah Sam for his kindness and creates the biggest, best Chinese New Year celebration that Whistle, Montana, has ever seen.

I have many reasons why I liked this book. One of the reasons I liked this book is because Ah Sam taught Ursula that it does not matter what you look like on the outside.The second reason I liked this book is because Ursula knew that Ah Sam helped her a lot by giving her the confidence to go outside so she repaid him by creating the Chinese New Year in Whistle, Montana. The third reason I like this book is because it teaches you that you shouldn't judge a person by their nationality because in the story Ursula thought all Chinese people were bad, but Ah Sam proved her wrong with his kindness.

The fourth reason I like this book is because Ursula got to experience a different culture or style of life. For example on Chinese New Year they had to cut a little bit of their hair, do Chinese dances, parade around in a dragon, light up fire crackers, and feast. The fifth reason I like this book is because I like circuses, which are amazing and have things like acrobats, jugglers, clowns, animals, and animal trainers. If I had to grade this book on a scale from 1 to 10 I would give this book a 10.

My favorite part of the book was when Ah Sam's cousins came to town to put on the circus. Their names were Ah Bing, Ah Loo, and Lung. On the day of the circus Ah Loo stuck a sword down her mouth and pulled it back out without cutting her insides. Then she spit fire out her mouth. Ah Bing pulled eggs out from behind people in the audience's ears. Ah Sam juggled balls, knives, a boot, a turnip, and a hat all at one time. For the grand finale Ah Bing, Ah Loo, and Lung began to turn into letters. All together they spelled out "Thank You, Ursula."