Jingle, the Christmas Clown

When Il Circo Piccolo, the Little Circus, arrives at the small Italian village where they perform every Christmas Eve, they discover that most of the residents have moved away, due to a hard year, and only a small group of elderly villagers are left, unable to pay for a circus. Deciding to press on for the city, the circus leaves their youngest clown, Jingle, behind, so he can care for the baby animals too tired to continue the trek. Seeing that the elderly villagers are as sad as he is, Jingle decides to put on a show for them, to cheer them up and give them a Christmas treat...

Author/illustrator Tomie dePaola's The Clown of God—a retelling of a folktale about an elderly clown who performs with all of his heart for the Christ child, show more one Christmas Eve, leading to a miracle—was one of my favorite books as a girl, so I picked up Jingle, the Christmas Clown with some interest, curious to see what this other story of a clown at Christmas would have to offer. While this had none of the power of The Clown of God, and didn't turn out to be one of dePaola's stronger Christmas titles (there are a fair few), I did find the story sweet, and the accompanying artwork appealing, and can see a young child who loves the circus and/or clowns finding it very engaging. It is to such children, as well as to Tomie dePaola fans, that I would recommend it. show less

Every year, Il Circo Piccolo . . . the Little Circus . . . travels across the country and plays a special Christmas Eve performance at a small village. But this year the village is practically empty: the crops did not grow well and most of the shops are closed. And so is the church. The people have no money. Only the old-timers are left.

The Impresario leaves Jingle the Clown, who is too young and too small to perform with the other clowns, and the baby animals in the village and hurries away to the next village to perform there.

The townspeople help Jingle set up the tent for the baby animals, but everyone is sad that there will be nothing special for Christmas Eve.

But Jingle and the baby animals come up with a plan for a special show more present for the villagers. Can their gift bring the happiness of Christmas to the people of the village?

Readers young and old will treasure this sweet narrative that celebrates the spirit of Christmas and spotlights the joy of giving, both of which shine through in this special story.

Highly recommended. show less

Such a cute book! The illustrations are amazing, as I expected from dePaola. He never fails to amaze. This is a wonderful book that shows that anyone, no matter how small, can make a difference if they have a BIG heart =)

This book has cute very adorable pictures. My favorite picture is when they do the pyramid.