The Circus Parade

Children delight and wonder at the colourful sights and sounds of a parade. This simple, lively poem captures the excitement and anticipation of watching a circus parade. Young readers are invited to march to the beat of the music with all the usual suspects--acrobats, street vendors, musicians and clowns--as they make their way down the main street of town.Ages 3-6

Sketches based on personal experience with the life and people of a traveling circus.

A circus parade highlights the colorful and exciting acts to come.

Milwaukee was home to the Great Circus Parade for almost 30 years. Beginning in 1963 and continuing until 1972, the parade became an annual tradition, except in 1967 when the event was cancelled because of civil unrest. Revived on a smaller scale in 1980, the parade traveled between Baraboo and Chicago until it returned to Milwaukee in 1985. Each year, it grew in size and scope, gaining national prominence. The old-fashioned circus parade became an event of mammoth proportions, requiring an army of volunteers working behind the scenes.

Caillou is upset that the circus isn't coming to town, but Daddy saves the day.

Circus Parade originally published in 1927, presents the sordid but albeit fascinating side of life traveling with a small-time circus life during the 1920s in America. From "The Moss-Haired Girl" to "Whiteface" the clown, Tully paints a vivid picture of each of these troubled characters that make up his daily experience in the circus. Circus Parade was one of Tully's most successful books, both commercially and critically. This is by no means a romantic story about a boy joining the circus. Tully knows too well its seamier side. Instead, he paints a picture of life at the edges-earthy, wolfish, and brutal. Fans of Jack London, Jack Kerouac, John Steinbeck, Charles Bukowski, and hard-boiled writers of the 1930s will find a kindred spirit in Jim Tully.