You can teach an old dog new tricks, especially if he teaches himself. Grumps is the dog in question, the circus family dog if you will, because the circus is like a family. Grumps does his trick every night as part of the clown show and gets laughs from the children.

Soon, however, the clown troupe brings in Sparks who can jump through the hoop of fire and other tricks. Grumps is a bit worried. What if Sparks becomes the dog of the moment?

On his own, Grumps works on a trick of his own. Can he do it? What happens next? The story ends with a surprise and a moment of recognition: that Grumps will always be the circus family dog and that is that.

My daughter enjoyed the story and the illustrations are nicely done, with lots of color and recognizable though humorous features (four stars).

Circus Family Dog
Author: Andrew Clements, illustrated by Sue Truesdell
2000 Clarion Books
32 pages



Recommended: Yes