Title: The Great and Only BARNUM

Author: Candace Fleming

Pg 1-142 of 142

This book talked about the great P.T. Barnum, founder of the Barnum and Bailey circus. Barnum was born July 5, 1810. His family mainly called him Tale when he was young. When Barnum was older, he opened the American Museum which included the world’s skinniest man, the world’s smallest man who stood 25 inches tall, and the world’s tallest women who was nearly 8 ft tall. On July 13, 1865 the American Museum burned down. It was rebuilt but again burned down. Barnum decided to give up on the museum and to retire instead. He did this for the next two years of his life, but found himself bored to tears. One day he got a letter in the mail asking if he wanted to join a small circus. In 1871, at the age of 60, he partnered with the small circus which now included clowns, horse acts, mummies, etc. Soon it became the best railroad circus ever. The 100-cart train could travel 100 miles in one day. At the age of 70, Barnum partnered with the James Bailey. Barnum brought the mummies, human curiosities, and other strange things. Bailey brought the exotic animals, clowns, elephants, and trapeze artists. Together they created “The Greatest Show On Earth.”

I wonder why his family called him Tale when he was young. I also wonder why he joined the circus business at the age of 60. Most men in the 1800s didn’t even live that long. I would have thought he would have been too tired to start over again. I guess it just goes to show that if you are passionate enough about something, age doesn’t matter. I thought it was strange that his museum burned down twice. This book relates to me because when I was younger I saw the Shrine Circus in Oklahoma with my family. Before we pulled into the parking lot, I remember seeing a handful of people waving signs that circuses were cruel to animals. I don’t know if that is true, though. At the circus, there were lots of clowns and acrobats. There were also lots of people selling inflatable toys, laser lights and stuffed monkeys on sticks. The Shrine Circus will be in Springfield this month. In this book, there was a disgusting photo of Barnum’s World’s Skinniest Man, a 24 year old who only weighed 44 pounds. I would give this book a 4 out of 5 because it was very good and had lots of cool photos. I would recommend this book to anybody who likes to read about P.T. Barnum or circuses.