In their trademark style, author Kate Klise and illustrator M. Sarah Klise blend a story bursting with jokes, puns, and wordplay with illustrations, signs, letters, recipes, and bold graphics to introduce Three-Ring Rascals. When Sir Sidney, a kindly old circus owner, becomes too tired to travel with his show, he places a Help Wanted ad in the newspaper. Enter Barnabas Brambles: “I have a degree in lion taming from the University of Piccadilly Circus.” But does Leo the lion need taming? Will Elsa the elephant still get her gourmet peanuts? And what will Brambles say when he discovers Bert and Gert—two mice who travel with the circus on popcorn cleanup patrol? Brambles has big plans: More cities! More shows! No more free popcorn. Soon he’s made a big mess of Sir Sidney’s Circus, but Leo, Elsa, Bert, Gert, and the rest of the performers agree: The Show Must Go On! Black and white line drawings throughout.

The rascals from the world s friendliest family circus are back in the second installment of this smafunderful \* fully illustrated series. Everyone knows Sir Sidney s Circus is the best in the world. But who s the "star" of the show? "The Circus Times "is having a contest to find out. Just thinking about it gives Sir Sidney a worrywart, and it s quickly clear why. Soon after he goes off to rest, the performers start thinking too much about winning the trophy and not enough about putting on a good show. Meanwhile, it looks as if ringmaster-in-training Barnabas Brambles might need some help managing the crew, so Bert and Gert, the sly brother-and-sister mice who travel with the show, set out to write a book to teach him how it s done. Normal.dotm 0 0 1 125 715 Algonquin 5 1 878 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false /\ Style Definitions \/ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name: "Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow: yes; mso-style-parent: ""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;} Does Bert and Gert s plan work? And who" is" the star of the circus? All will be revealed in "The Greatest Star on Earth." \*Kirkus Reviews

Don’t Miss the Boat! Sir Sidney’s Circus usually travels by train. But one day a letter arrives from Flora Endora Eliza LaBuena LaPasta inviting the circus aboard the SS Spaghetti, a floating palace of elegance and entertainment. Who could resist? One Miss LaPasta does not want Barnabas Brambles to come aboard, because she has heard that he’s the meanest man alive. Sir Sidney, the nicest man alive, says that the entire circus will accept Miss LaPasta’s invitation, including Barnabas Brambles. But Leo the lion doesn’t like water. Elsa the elephant doesn’t know how to swim. Where will the Flying Banana Brothers put their trapeze? And hey, what’s that large object up ahead in the water? You’ll never guess what happens when The Circus Goes to Sea.

Bert the circus mouse is missing! The members of Sir Sidney’s Circus look everywhere. They don’t know that tiny Bert has been carried away by a huge balloon. Meanwhile, far away, Flora Endora Eliza LaBuena LaPasta is tired of being ignored. Her parents have no time for her as they prepare for a new baby, so Flora comes up with a plan to mail herself to her friends at the circus. A popped balloon and a mixed-up shipment bring Bert and Flora together. In the worst of times, a best friendship is born. But can a circus mouse and a runaway girl make it through a world of bad drivers, angry mobs, and greedy robbers? The pals must use their wits to stay out of trouble and try to find their way home in Pop Goes the Circus!

Everyone has a secret. But sometimes a little secret can become a big problem. That’s what happens when circus mouse Gert’s secret pen pal, a pig named Pablo, runs away to join Sir Sidney’s Circus. Pablo doesn’t want to be sold to Prinkle’s Pork Chops. Farmer Farley doesn’t really want to sell Pablo, either, but he needs money to save his farm. When the New Pork Times announces a pig race with a five-thousand-dollar prize, the members of Sir Sidney’s Circus—Gert, her brother Bert, Elsa the elephant, Leo the lion, and their friends—hope they’ve found a way to save Pablo and Farmer Farley’s farm, too. The race is on in Secrets of the Circus. PRAISE FOR THE THREE-RING RASCALS “A fun pick for fans of silly stories and for reluctant readers, too.” —\* School Library Journal “The story zips along, the text and illustrations are full of playful surprises, and the author sustains a tone of rare and genuine sweetness . . . Rich and inventive.” —† Chicago Tribune “Entertaining . . . Illustrations, complete with speech bubbles, are seamlessly interwoven with the text to capture the action and misadventures. There’s even a rousing song . . . Absurd situations, winning characters and plenty of heartfelt moments and laughs combine to make this a surefire hit.” —‡ Kirkus Reviews “Coined words, speech bubbles, newspaper articles, and other amusing features continue the big-top merriment.” — Booklist