Today's #HistFicThursdays blog is a fantastic interview with Cliff Lovette , as part of his Yarde Book Promotion tour! Read on to find out about his influences, inspirations, and the emotional rollercoaster on which Circus Bim Bom carries readers away. But first, let's meet the book... Blurb Soviet circus performers arrived in America hoping to build cultural bridges. Instead, they became unwitting pawns in a Cold War game of international intrigue. When the first privately owned Soviet circus arrived in 1990 in America as the Soviet Union disintegrated, its elite performers expected to build cultural bridges through spectacular shows. Instead, this prestigious troupe faced a perilous journey through Cold War America. Circus director Yuri had to navigate treacherous waters where American mobsters, Soviet agents, and political forces circled like predators. Young aerialist Anton dreamed of becoming a clown against his family’s wishes, while forbidden romanc...
This is a lovely story about Norman, a little bat who is perfectly happy with his “particularly average life” until he accidentally ends up going on a series of amazing adventures. He is kidnapped, he goes into space, he is trained to save the world! It’s a great thing to teach children about how exciting things can happen despite modest beginnings! Throughout the book, he meets friends like him and others who are very different, a fantastic thing to encourage children to embrace friendships with others from various backgrounds.
The story is enhanced by exciting illustrations which show the variety of characters as they undertake their adventures. I absolutely fell in love with the Overwatchers, and the villains were wonderfully dastardly!
The tone is perfect for 5-7 year olds, but the language used in the story is really advanced for a child to read themselves. It is somewhere between a picture book and a chapter book. I would recommend it as a book for an adult to read to a child, while the young audience will undoubtedly love to follow along with the fabulous illustrations. Some of the turns of phrase also lend themselves to being read aloud, like the use of question/answer paragraphs.
All in all, Norman Space Bat will provide a lovely story to read aloud with your little ones, or for an older child to read to a younger sibling. There are a lot of life lessons to be learnt from Norman’s adventures, but they’re done in a way which isn’t too heavy handed. And if you don’t just fall in love with the Overwatchers then I don’t know what to say!
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