Jingle The Christmas Clown

With a little bit of magic, one plucky clown is determined to turn Christmas around for a village that’s down on its luck in this enchanting tale from Tomie dePaola. Every midwinter, little Jingle and his family, Il Circo Piccolo, The Little Circus, travel through the countryside to the city for their special Christmas performance. Each year, they stop at the same little village to put on a show for its residents. It’s Jingle’s favorite night. This year, though, things are different. There is no smoke coming out of the chimneys. Everything is closed up. And the few people still in town have fallen on hard times and don’t have the money to see the circus anymore. But Jingle is not so easily deterred. With the help of his baby animals, he is determined to put on a show that no one will forget.

This beautiful new edition of Tomie dePaola’s 1978 classic retelling of a French legend stars a little juggler whose unique talent leads him to what might be a Christmas miracle. Little Giovanni is poor and homeless, but he can do something wonderful: he can juggle. The people of Sorrento marvel at his talents, and before long, he becomes famous throughout Italy for his rainbow of colored balls that delight the nobility and townspeople alike. But as the years pass, Giovanni grows old, and his talents begin to fail him. No longer a celebrated performer, he is once again poor and homeless, begging for his food. Until one Christmas Eve, when Giovanni picks up his rainbow of colored balls once more. And what happens next just might be a miracle…

SUMMARY: A small clown and baby circus animals perform on Christmas eve for the elderly of a poor village.

This beautifully illustrated collection has been carefully refreshed with its thirty-one classic Christmas carols illustrated by the beloved Tomie dePaola that will be perfect for making the holidays merry and bright. Christmas is a time for warm family gatherings, the sharing of gifts and festive meals, and everywhere, there is music! Carols with familiar melodies and lyrics telling stories of events from long ago have delighted young and old for generations. This intricately illustrated collection of Tomie’s favorite Christmas carols, first published in 1987, highlights dePaola’s love of Christmas and its traditions and is the perfect family gift to celebrate the holiday. Vibrant, glowing paintings illuminate every page of sheet music, and for six of the carols, a foldout page opens up to reveal the carol dramatically illustrated across three pages in a triptych-like design.

Illustrations and easy-to-read text provide a primer on friendship, including the many ways friendships are formed.

Jingles is a magical clown with wild frizzy hair, blue eyes, a red nose, and a big smile. Jingles never knows where he will appear or what town he may be in. This year, Jingles is in a small town called Belle Buckle, Tenn. While he is singing and dancing around a Christmas tree, a young boy named Davy is trying to help his family by shining shoes.

Santa's favorite story is how Jingles, the Christmas Clown, came to the North Pole. After learning about the Jingles origin story, the reader is transported back to present day where Jingles, our protagonist, saves Christmas from the infamous Snow Monster. "Jingles, The Christmas Clown" children's book is both educational and an excellent holiday gift!