Olivia remembers her trip to the circus very well. The performers were out sick, so she had to do everything. She...

• rode on a unicycle
• jumped on a trampoline
• juggled five balls!
• tamed lions
• and flew through the air.

Step into the ring with Olivia, where the lights are dim, the color soft, and a little girl's imagination is the main attraction.

Similar in structure to the first book, this is a day in the life of Olivia, and Walter Mitty's got nothing on this little piggy. It is Olivia's turn to tell the class about her
vacation. She goes to the circus, but all the performers are out with ear infections. Luckily Olivia knows how to do everything, and in her outsized imagination that's precisely what she does.

Ian Falconer's wry, understated text and whimsical, expressive artwork are a perfect match, each fleshing out Olivia in its own way, complementing each other without ever becoming redundant. Olivia is artsy. She's crafty. She's a bundle of joy. She's a handful. She rocks. She rolls. She rules. She's not afraid to dream big dreams. She's her own pig, and that's why we love her.

11 of 11 found the following review helpful:


Olivia...You've Gotta Love Her.....  Oct 10, 2001 By Roz Levine
It's Olivia's turn to tell the class about her vacation, and she can't wait. "Olivia always blossoms in front of an audience." And so our feisty little pig begins the story about her day at the circus. Of course, all the performers were out sick with ear infections, but "luckily I knew how to do everything." She tames lions and walks tightropes, performs on stilts, juggles, and even rides a unicycle. Then she clowns, swings high on the trapeze, and is Queen of the Trampoline. Finally, she ends her show as Madame Olivia and her trained dogs. "And that's how I saved the circus. And now I am famous." Olivia is very proud. Her teacher is exasperated. "True?", she asks again and again. "Yes, to the best of my recollection", answers Olivia..... Ian Falconer has bettered last year's, Olivia, debut, and fans won't be able to get enough of this adorable and precocious little pig with her queen-size imagination. His witty, yet simple text is kept to a minimum and really captures the preschool mind. But it's his charming and clever charcoal artwork, with just a creative splash of color here and there to highlight his scenes, that really makes this book stand out. Both children and adults will laugh out loud at the antics of this delightful little heroine. Perfect for youngsters 3-7, Olivia Saves the Circus is a must for home libraries and a picture book kids will beg to read again and again. Olivia is back and better than ever!

14 of 15 found the following review helpful:


How do you solve a problem like Olivia?  Jan 10, 2005 By E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird"
To a child, tall tales are totally and entirely distinct from lies. When you ask a kid what happened at school and they launch into an interesting if implausible tale of bandits, pirates, and space aliens you are not expected to punish them for their creativity. Such a mindset is needed when reading "Olivia Saves the Circus" by Ian Falconer. The sequel to the highly charming if somewhat bizarre "Olivia", this book follows the familiar little pig as she invents a tale of derring-do and breathtaking wonder. Kids love Olivia because she has adventures (if only in her own mind) that they would like to have. Adults love her because her books are witty, urbane, and pleasant to the eye. And I love them because they're funny. This book in particular is a highly amusing story that, if it doesn't make you giggle, will at least raise the hint of a smile on your face. Few pig-related picture books do as much.

If you've ever met Olivia before then you know what to expect from her. She lives with her mom, dad, and two little brothers in (what we can only assume to be) New York City. A striking individual, Olivia excels at perking up her drab school uniform with an excessive amount of red accessories. This particular day at school, each child is to tell the class about his or her vacation. Through the eyes of our heroine we hear how the local circus was in town but, tragically, all the performers were sick with ear infections and could not perform. Luckily for them, Olivia was up to the challenge of fulfilling every available position. Before our very eyes she's a tattooed lady (with the aid of some magic marker), a lion tamer, a tight-rope walker, a juggler, a clown, a trapeze artist, and so much more. "And that's how I saved the circus. And now I am famous". The teacher, unsurprisingly, isn't buying. A cross-examination of Olivia comes up with the following dialogue: "Was that true?". "Pretty true". "All true?". "Pretty all true". "Are you sure, Olivia?". "To the best of my recollection". And so it's the end of a busy day for Olivia, star of the circus of her mind and a potential Queen of the Trampoline.

Olivia comes off as pretty cute in this book. In her subsequent adventure, "Olivia and the Missing Toy" she descends into downright brattiness, but at this point she's still likable. Pugnacious and precocious but adorable all the same. Falconer, as is his wont, limits his palette to blacks, whites, grays, and the occasional eye-popping red. There are also some mild pinks that appear in the circus sequences, but in the end the colors are limited to what Olivia wears and appears in. There is also the obligatory Eleanor Roosevelt poster in Olivia's room (undoubtedly placed there in the vain hope that children reading this book will want to know who she is and what her importance was).

Whether you like Olivia or find her unaccountably annoying, you have to at least concede that this particular book is probably her best work. It has grand flights of fancy, delightful animals, a fun plot, and a wink for parental readers. Kids like it, adults like it, and everyone concedes its well-writtenness (I know... not a word). It's a fun book and one that is bound to please whosoever you chose to give it to. If you select any Olivia book to read, this would definitely be the one.

6 of 6 found the following review helpful:


Queen of the Trampoline for certain!  Sep 21, 2001 By S. Christiansen
Falconer's second Olivia book is as charming and fun as the first. The illustrations perfectly capture Olivia's imagination and determination in her story of a daring circus performance. The four page spread of her jumping on the trampoline is terrific. I have never seen a more satisfied pig!

One of my favorite lines reads, "Olivia always blossoms in front of an audience." She, of course, knows how to do everything.

Highly recommended.

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