Mr Galliano's Circus Story Collection (Bumper Short Story Collections)

Product Information

Appreantly Dean folks didnt feel important to include a portion of a child's hunger into the sensational quest for important herbs .[/i] Jimmy's braveness and love of animals makes its mark on Mr. Galliano to such an extent that he offers accommodation to the whole Brown family. I believe the term is 'Make my day!' Well, Jimmy and his parents' 'Day' is made all right and they very happily join up. There's tremendous excitement as you can well imagine when their little house is emptied and they are given a little caravan for their accommodation. Lotta, who is so happy to think that Jimmy will be traveling with them, expresses her delight by pinching him hard. "It's a funny way of showing you're glad," says poor Jimmy rubbing his arm. "But you're a funny girl altogether, Lotta — more like a boy!" Oh No! Not another one ... EB liked to have a few of her girls adopt a more boyish approach to life, but in this case I think its only a temporary lapse because Lotta has two sides to her world — 'Life in the Camp' and 'Life in the Circus Ring' and no one could accuse her of looking boyish when she's in the latter! I thought Mr Wally was quite justified in wanting to carry on taking Sammy in the ring along, after all he spent all that time training him – and Jimmy’s mother agrees. Jimmy’s has had a wonderful experience and then needs to move on and find he next one.

Tony Summerfield wrote:I can see now why Armada published books that children actually wanted to read, whilst Puffin published books that adults thought children ought to read!

BeStime Early Jigsaws

I always love comparing the intro description of this book with the later book 'Five Go Of In A Caravan' In the weekend, Jimmy visits the circus camp for a whole day at the invitation of his young friend, Lotta. Gloom has descended on the performers and this is because Harry the odd-job man has done a moonlight flit with the week's takings! Jimmy has an idea. His own father is a carpenter — just the sort of man needed to replace crooked Harry. Would he countenance such an upheaval? Lotta's parents consider his bold idea and it's put to the circus-owner himself. "Tell him to come and see me this evening, yes," says Galliano. In the meantime, Jimmy and Lotta take the dogs out for a walk and Lotta comments on the way they are attracted to the boy. There's no doubt about it, Jimmy's got a real gift where animals are concerned. The two children roam the countryside and let the dogs loose for a good run and very unfortunately, one of them — Darky, is lost! They return with only nine terriers and that's a clear example of an incident that could be typical of everyday circus life. I was always saddened as a kid that none of my friends had read these series of books. To me it was a bit of a travesty! How would they get by without Jimmy's mum's wonderful advice of using misfortune as a stepping stone to something better for example? Some people here have said it’s all a bit sudden – the family joining the circus. I disagree slightly, as we see Mr Brown working with the circus for a whole week and then being asked to stay with them, without his family. He goes home, presumably to talk to his wife about it. It’s quite easy to imagine her saying “if only Jimmy and I could go with you. There’s nothing keeping us here.” So when that’s offered, they jump at it. Rereading Mr Galliano's Circus at 48 was almost just as much of a treat for me as it was when I was eight.

I found getting to sleep really difficult as a kid. My mum used to spend so many evenings reading to me (to way past midnight!) trying to get me to sleep. The problem being that my mum has one of those natural audiobook styled narrator type of talents that meant if anything I wanted to stay up to find out what happened next! Two and a half stars for the first volume in the Circus trilogy. Blyton was famous for writing her books at speed, as well as for her involvement in animal charities; both of these trends are reflected in this book. Perhaps the story is more developed in later volumes, but for now most of the characters--particularly the adults--are two-dimensional and the story is very superficial. I know it's wish-fulfillment stuff for the young, but if you want an interesting story of kids joining the circus, I recommend Circus Shoes. At least the main character isn't a total Gary Stu; he's told that he started too late to be a good acrobat or rider, so he has to be content with being an animal trainer. Some of the skills he teaches his dog, such as walking on its hind legs and carrying a flag or parasol at the same time, are probably impossible since dogs don't have opposable thumbs, but hey, it's fiction. The main message is "be kind to animals", which is all well and good, but the situations are rushed and superficial until almost the end of the book. I also got tired of Jimmy's family's superiority toward the other circus people as "untidy and dirty". I wonder how they felt about it after a few years of having only a washbasin for the entire family to get clean in? Saying that, like many Blyton books there are a huge number of coincidences and omissions which facilitate the story. As a child you take them for granted, but as an adult you say “oh, how convenient!”. For example we have: Even as a child, I knew Blyton was writing fantasy. Even when, or especially when, the story seemed rooted in everyday life. Cara Enid Blyton menceritakannya dengan berganti dari narator, lalu sudut pandang salah satu tokoh, kembali jadi narator, sangat menarik.

Dean's Reward Series

They just happen to be passing Lal’s brother’s town when he says he has a dog for her, just as she’s promised to buy Jimmy a dog. Look out for more Enid Blyton bumper story collections with: Fireworks in Fairyland, The Wizards Umbrella and Cherry Tree Farm. It's clear in this book that while "ordinary people" love the circus and are thrilled and delighted with the acts and performing animals, outside the ring the circus folk are thought of as a little odd – dirty and uncouth, probably "bad sorts" who will steal things from under your nose if you're not careful. In fact this is a common theme in many of Blyton's books that involve a travelling circus, or fair folk, or gypsies – especially throughout the Famous Five series. But while sometimes they really are bad sorts (as in Five Go To Mystery Moor), more often than not they're just seen that way on the surface. In Five Have a Wonderful Time the folk are really very unfriendly indeed... until Jo shows up, after which they're a warm, happy bunch. It really depends on which side of the fence you're standing on, and in Mr Galliano's Circus we get to live the lives of the circus folk and see through their eyes how ignorant the rest of the world is.

There are beautiful times and memories to be retained by Jimmy in his new surroundings. Fires are lit in the evening whilst the horses graze nearby. Jumbo rests and feasts on his supper. It's nice to relax after a day of jolting and jerking along the road on the way to the next venue. Jimmy's first night is typical of many — E. H. Davie, the illustrator, has supplied a nice little picture of him and Lotta sitting around a fire near the caravans. Their day is not finished though because whilst all other children in the village are sleeping peacefully in their beds, the two circus kids get up to take the dogs for a walk. "Isn't it lovely, Lotta!" said Jimmy, sniffing at the white may as they passed it. "And look at the moon!" The moon was coming slowly up over the hill in front of them. The countryside was bathed in light, pale and cold and silvery. They did not meet anyone, for the countryside was quite deserted. Only a lonely farmhouse shone in the moonlight not far off.They return to the camp singing loudly. Lotta knows old circus ditties and Jimmy sings songs he'd learnt at school. The dogs are returned to their cage and the children speed off to their caravans. Jimmy cuddles down on the little mattress placed by his parents' bed. The windows are opened to let in the sweet air of the May night and the boy listens to the call of an owl in the wood. A big white star shines through the window. "I'm one of the circus folk now" he thinks sleepily. "I'm one of the circus-f-f-f ... " He sleeps. Dan aduhhh, Mbah Enid itu suka banget menceritakan tentang makanan. Jimmy makan 3 sosis besarlah, makan ikan hering yang dibakar api unggunlah, makan selada dengan krimlah, makan kue bolu lah, Jimmy makan kue tart dengan lahap lah(waktu ditanya Pak Galliano setelah menolak Cyrano ~spoiler~). Ga lupa, waktu Sammy melarikan diri juga sempet-sempetnya ada adegan makan segala. Apelnya sungguh sedap beuh jadi lapar malam-malam. >.<

Non-Series Books

More things happen and one particularly important occasion is when Jimmy actually enters the circus-ring. What an honour. He's very successful but, because he's using his powers with animals to the hilt, there's an unexpected fly in the ointment. You see, he's working with Sammy the chimp and Mr. Wally, who is recovering from the accident with his car, is a little jealous. Jimmy's mother gives some sage advice and it's taken up at different times by the boy and also by Lotta — "The best way to treat obstacles is to use them as stepping stones. Laugh at them, tread on them and let them lead you to something better." When the story calls for it, someone must watch the horses overnight as they are valuable – but not on the night Jumbo is to escape. On occasion things in the book stretched my imagination too far (though not when I was a child, which of course is who is meant to be reading it!). My fellow collector Jon Preddle is also an admirer of the work of Peter Archer, and we have worked together to produce a rough bibliography of the books he has illustrated, both credited and uncredited. He agrees with my conclusion that Archer rendered these particular Armada covers. (Of course, final confirmation could only be attained if the original artwork ever surfaces!)