Last Night I Dreamed a Circus

Book excerpt: Many children dream of going to the circus, but our narrator dreams herself right into the act. She is the graceful horseback rider and the clown. The daring trapeze artist and the dancing dog. The contortionist and the roaring lion. These stars of the circus are depicted in splendid, dramatic portraits by noted watercolorist Robert Rahway Zakanitch. Each vividly colored performer is set against a black background that invokes both a life in the spotlight and the focused landscape of dreams. Poetic and spare, the text invites readers to extend the story in their own imaginations-in their own circus dreams.