Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
India the Showstopper
Picture Book
For ages 4 to 6
Allen and Unwin, 2008 ISBN: 978-1865085968
India the elephant is "an absolute whiz on the mouth organ." When she starts to play everyone under the circus big top begins jigging and dancing. All the animals who perform in the circus do better when she is creating music and India knows that she is indeed "the star of the show."
Unfortunately all is not well in the circus. Less and less people are coming to performances and Barney the ringmaster is finding it hard to make ends meet. Then Barney sees an advertisement in the newspaper and he hires Oswaldo the Magnificent to help him make the circus a success. India is not happy when she meets Oswaldo. He is large, "rough," and he has very different ideas about what India should be doing to attract new audiences.
Young circus (and elephant) fans will greatly enjoy this light hearted and amusing picture book. They will not only get to participate in a circus caper, but they will also be reminded that radical changes are not always a good thing. Sometimes a compromise works best of all.
