The Show Must Go On! (Three-Ring Rascals, 1)

This is the first book in the "Three-Ring Rascals" series, which follows the antics of Sir Sidney's Circus, the best circus in the world.MILD SPOILER: In this first volume, "The Show Must Go On! (Three-Ring Rascals)", Sir Sidney hires Barnabas Brambles to work as the manager of the circus. Barnabas turns out to be greedy and nasty, and has been referred to in every succeeding book as having once been the meanest man in the world. Nevertheless Sir Sidney doesn't give up on Barnabas and works to help Barnabas improve himself. Many have commented on the themes of kindness, generosity, second chances, and forgiveness that shine through in book one.The second volume involves a competition among the circus performers to see who is the "star" of the circus, and ends up as a tale of cooperation, teamwork and family solidarity. Barnabas does some backsliding in Sir Sidney's absence, and so the performers, especially Bert and Gert, the circus mice, have to remind him about a few golden rules. The performers ruin their acts by trying to hog the spotlight, so teamwork and cooperation also figure heavily. The performers are presented as normal and decent characters who occasionally mess up, are forgiven, and try to do better. The books aren't terribly heavy-handed about any of this;So, these aren't just "message" books, although they aren't shy about making points about kindness, patience, and cooperation. They are gentle, forgiving and upbeat. They are also funny, silly, charming, colorful and energetic books with wacky characters and situations, that just happen to include a positive sub-text, so don't worry that these will be all preachy finger wagging. While the positive lessons are there, they are seamlessly blended in with wisecracks, jokes, silly banter, wisecracking mice and a lot of sight gags. There are a lot of jokes slipped in to the abundant illustrations, and some of the asides from the mice in the margins have a bit of snap to them.This is a great book as a read-to or a read with, or as a first book for an early reader. Laughs and some sly wit keep it interesting for Mom or Dad. And the whole enterprise is colorful and upbeat. A nice find.Please note that I purchased this. I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of the book.

I bought "The Show Must Go On!" as a gift for my 5-year old nephew. He received it Monday. It is now Thursday, and my sister just called to tell me that he absolutely LOVED it. So much so that he wants to go to the bookstore and buy the sequel. (Unfortunately, it hasn't been written yet). He was laughing out loud and even called her into the room to read a particularly funny passage with him. He took it to school with him to show his friends, and he has been talking about it constantly, especially about the circus villain and the funny animals. I can't really think of a better endorsement than the love of a child for a favorite new book. This book hit it out of the park as far as I'm concerned. Here's hoping the sequel comes out soon!

My Grandson loved the entire series.

My 2nd grade son loved this book. He wouldn't put it down. I bought the rest of the Three-Ring Rascals series and hope it goes just as well.

Exactly as described - trustworthy used book seller

Great book! An assignment for school for our daughter. She loved it!

My 9 year old daughters favorite book. She has read the entire series now. She even dressed up as one of the characters for Halloween.

A+