Adam and His Tuba

A family of circus performers face a moral reckoning in this playfully illustrated story of acceptance written by Gombac. The Von Trapeze family, who “amaze audiences wherever they go,” reveal a wealth of talents: fire breathing, sword swallowing, and tightrope walking. But youngest child Adam, shown reading backstage, lacks enthusiasm for the family’s pursuits as well as the resultant applause. At a family meeting, as the worried circus clan brainstorms a “solution” for Adam’s perceived problem, someone finally thinks to ask Adam what he likes doing. When he reveals a hidden musical talent—the group wondering why they “never noticed, or heard him, before”—they gain a fanciful coconspirator: “Did you know that circus tricks and this tuba of mine make a unique combination?” Rosy-cheeked, largely pale-skinned figures with turned-up noses populate Kastelic’s sepia-toned illustrations, which successfully conjure a circus atmosphere and a familial conglomerate alongside a stock plot of finding one’s way. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)