The Great and Only Barnum: The Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P.T. Barnum

Author:  Candace Fleming

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: Schwartz & Wade (September 8, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375841970
ASIN: B004NSVEQE

Synopsis: The story of how Phineas Taylor "Tale" Barnum became P.T. Barnum, purveyor and exhibitioner of oddities and animals, and father of "The Greatest Show on Earth!"

Review: I loved this book; in fact, once I started reading it I could not put it down. It offers readers a fascinating look of how a shopkeeper turned himself into a "showman" known the world over.  Candace Fleming has organized the text brilliantly into chunks of information easy for children of all ages to digest, with clever sidebars containing information on Barnum's family, life and career, often in his own words. The information is well-documented, yet the story flows well and reads more like a story than a series of facts.

Awards/Reviews:

YALSA-ALA Excellence in Young Adult Non-Fiction Finalist
WINNER 2009 Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Books
WINNER 2009 Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of the YearWINNER 2010 ALA Notable Children's BookWINNER 2010 ALA Best Books for Young AdultsWINNER 2010 Cooperative Children's Book Center ChoicesNOMINEE 2011 Tennessee Volunteer State Book Master ListSUBMITTED Junior Library Guild Selection
“The material is inherently juicy, but credit Fleming’s vivacious prose, bountiful period illustrations, and copious source notes for fashioning a full picture of one of the forbearers of modern celebrity.” - Booklist, starred review

"Audiences will step right up to this illuminating and thorough portrait of an entertainment legend" - Publishers Weekly
"An outstanding choice for all middle level and secondary collections." - School Library Journal

Connections:

Have students draw or write a description of what they'd include in a circus if they were P.T. Barnum. To incorporate multi-disciplinary subjects, tally up the animals/acts that students would use, then determine percentages of students who would have included each item.

Use the sidebar item "No Black People" on pp. 39 to launch a discussion on the Civil War (still ~15 years away when this item was published in the newspaper). Also discuss the Civil Rights movement to illustrate how little attitudes had changed in the 100 years between when the newspaper item was published and when the Civil Rights Act was passed.