Circus Act is the 42nd book in the Nancy Drew Notebooks series. It was first published in May 2001. The cover tagline says “Nancy’s solving a mystery at a circus day camp–and she’s not clowning around!”
Back of the Book Summary:
Come one, come all, to the greatest show in town!
Nancy, Bess, and George are attending Little Big Top circus day camp, and now they’re preparing for the big show. Bess will help Splatter the elephant make a painting, George will be an acrobat, and Nancy will perform with Celeste the Hopscotch Poodle.
Then Celeste disappears while Nancy is taking care of her. Was Celeste dognapped by the Flying Tremendoes, the kid aerialists? Or by Orson Wong, who claimed the poodle made him sneeze? Or maybe Katie Zaleski, who wanted Celeste for the TV program she’s taping in her basement? One thing’s for sure–there’s big, big, trouble at Little Big Top!
Inside Teaser:
Big Trouble at Camp Little Big Top
“BEEP! BEEP! BEEEEEP!” A boy wearing clown makeup, baggy pants, and a bright red orange wig rode into the circus ring on a tricycle. He was Orson Wong from Nancy’s third-grade class.
“Woof!” Celest the Hopscotch Poodle barked. Everyone laughed as she chased Orson’s tricycle.
“Get away from meeee!” Orson let out a gigantic sneese. His red rubber nose flew right off his face!
“How can you be in the Chuckle Brigade if you keep sneeing your nose off?” asked Gunther, the camp’s director.
“I have to be a clown!” Orson cried. He waved his gigantic shoe in the air. “I’m Boscoe Bigfoot. And no one makes balloon animals like the great Boscoe Bigfoot!”
“Then what shall we do Orson?” Hilda, the other director at camp, asked.
Orson shrugged. “Maybe you can gegt rid of Celeste?”
“Get rid of Celeste? hilda gasped. “Celeste is the star of the show!”
Review:
Nancy, Bess, and George spend two weeks at a circus camp, and each has a fun role to play in the big show at the end of camp. It is not said if this takes place during school season or summer break, and they never attend class in this story. At the beginning of the book, the kids are already well into camp and have already learned and trained for their parts to perform.
Once Celeste the Poodle goes missing, Nancy investigates the scene of the crime and questions suspects. She and her friends follow the suspicious leads and discover some surprising secrets.
The biggest clue, interestingly, is Splatter the elephant’s painting. Nancy, Bess, and George ask Splatter who was there the evening that Celeste went missing since Splatter’s cage is right next to Celeste’s kennel. Splatter paints a picture with enough detail for the girls to follow that lead – and it turns out to be the correct culprit.
There are some moments where kids misbehave, including some childlike pranks, but overall it is a pleasant book. George is not a tease as much, and there is a nice moment where Hannah Gruen compliments Carson Drew’s cooking (he is grilling chicken).
Nancy Drew Canon Observations:
Nancy keeps a blue notebook for her sleuthing. The story mentions Hannah Gruen, the Drew housekeeper.
Hannah Gruen compliments Carson’s cooking: he grilled chicken.
George and Bess are cousins. George’s real name is Georgia.
Bess is described as having long, blonde hair while George has curly dark hair.
Extra Notes:
A Minstrel Book, published by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.
Cover art by Joanie Schwarz. Inside pages are illustrated by Jan Naimo Jones.
Length: 70 pages in the main story (more with the title page, series lists, and ads).
