The Man on the Flying Trapeze

Inspired by the classic song “The Man on the Flying Trapeze,” Robert Quackenbush turns the familiar tune into a lively, wonderfully illustrated circus story filled with daring performers, romance, and high-flying fun. A gorgeously colorful vintage picture book celebrating the spectacle and excitement of the circus.

Kirkus Review, 1975: Unlike Quackenbush's previous picture book adaptations, this uses only the title and tune of the song which Quackenbush fits out with new words to tell the story of how Emmett Kelly, Sr., lost his trapeze job in the Depression and had to take a new one as a clown. The outcome?

"Oh! This young man's clown, after opening night,
Was the toast of the town and the children's delight.
His rags showed he shared in America's plight,
And the people found humor in him."

It's a passable idea, but sung or unsung the lines are both lame and jerky and Quackenbush's predominantly mauve and yellow pictures of an earnest, suited family man offstage and an artificially lit arena project an unintentionally shoddy view of the whole show.