by Moe Zilla

Created on: March 12, 2010

"The circus is like a family," writes Andrew Clements, "and old Grumps was the family dog. It's a fun premise for a children's picture book, but Clements turns it into a warm and wonderful story. There's fun details about the clowns and the dog's life in the circus. But by the end of the book, there's also a simple message about acceptance and family.

The circus travels from town to town, and the clowns rush into the center ring each night. There's a clown named Red who lights a ring of fire, and Grumps the dog is supposed to jump through it. The dog crouches low, studies the hoop, and a drum roll plays for the audience. Then Grumps pretends to yawn, closes his eyes, and lays down with his feet up in the air.

"That was his trick - his one and only  trick." It's a funny moment - and Clements adds that the children love it. They laughed and screamed when the clowns prop up Grumps again, and then Grumps performs his laying-down trick again. Eventually the clowns just load the reclining dog into a wagon, and slowly escort him out of the big top. "Everyone clapped and cheered," Clements writes, and even Grumps is happy. He's smiling - and he's wagging his tail.

Sue Truesdell drew the book's illustrations, and they're excellent cartoony sketches. When a new dog arrives for the circus, Grumps' tails points up suspiciously, while he lowers his ears and scowls. The pen-and-ink sketches are filled with clear, bright
watercolor shading. But they capture all the excitement of the moment when the new dog proves it's really able to jump through the clown's ring of fire.

There's dogs and clowns in this book, but it also dabbles with the themes of pride and determination. Grumps works out behind the circus tents, sometimes bonking his head against that hoop or scraping the bottom against his belly. Every day he sneaks in a work-out on his hoop-jumping trick, until one day he surprises the clown. He leaps through the ring of fire, and then listens as the audience cheers.

Clements dedicates the book to "my family near and far, the greatest show on earth," and it's theme he uses to bring the book to a very satisfying conclusion. In the end, the clown - and the new dog - always made sure that Grumps got a fair share of all the smiles and cheers from the crowds at the circus. Why?

"Because the circus is like a family, and old Grumps was the family dog."

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