Mirette on the High Wire

One day, a mysterious stranger arrives at a boardinghouse of the widow Gateau--a sad-faced stranger, who keeps to himself. When the widow's daughter, Mirette, discovers him crossing the courtyard on air, she begs him to teach her how he does it.

But Mirette doesn't know that the stranger was once the Great Bellini--master wire-walker. Or that Bellini has been stopped by a terrible fear. And it is she who must teach him courage once again.

Emily Arnold McCully's sweeping watercolor paintings carry the reader over the rooftops of nineteenth-century Paris and into an elegant, beautiful world of acrobats, jugglers, mimes, actors, and one gallant, resourceful little girl.

When a tall, sad-faced stranger comes to live at the boarding house run by her mother in nineteenth-century Paris, young Mirette Gâteau quickly discovers that there is more to this new lodger than meets the eye. Happening upon him practicing the high-wire in the courtyard, Mirette is enchanted, and asks him to teach her. Undaunted by his refusal, she sets out to teach herself, eventually inspiring Monsieur Bellini - the "Great Bellini" himself, once the world's foremost high-wire artist, but now fallen on hard times after losing his nerve - to try to make a comeback.

An engaging tale of friendship, dreaming big, and trying again when things have gone wrong, Mirette on the Highwire was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1993, and it's not show more difficult to see why. Emily Arnold McCully makes excellent use of color (Mirette's blue dress really stands out, in every scene in which she appears) and light in her watercolor artwork, which ably conveys the atmosphere of a Paris neighborhood, "one hundred years ago," and captures the magic of performing on the high-wire. I don't know that it will ever make any of my "favorites" lists, but overall I found it charming, in both story and illustration. show less

I loved this book as a kid and I read it again and remembered why I loved it so much. This story is very enticing, it draws you into Mirette's world. It takes place in Paris, Mirette's mom had a boarding house that she rents out and happened to rent out to a man named Bellini. Bellini is a tight rope walker who intrigues Mirette. Mirette watches him and begs him to teach her how to walk the tight rope. She keeps trying until she finally succeeds. Mirette learns all kinds of tricks to do on the high wire and in the end walks the wire with the great Bellini. This story is inspiring to young kids who maybe want to do something that they have never done before, Mirette shows that when you find something that inspires you and that you want show more to do, you will put forth the effort to achieve it. show less

I loved loved loved this book as a child...though oddly it never made me want to try to walk on a wire! I guess I always was drawn to stories of children whose questions and hopes are taken seriously by adults. The gorgeous, impressionist-influenced paintings of turn of the century entertainers certainly helped keep me captivated.

This was a fun story. It made me wonder weather the Great Bellini really lived. It focused on an aspect of the entertaining world that not many books focus on, tight rope walking. I'm pretty sure that my mother wouldn't have been as permissive as Mirette's mother was. The indication is that this is the first book about Mirette, so I'm anxious to find out what other books there are.

A fun book that focuses on high wire walking as a young girl is inspired by a legendary master. The illustrations are beautiful, and the story is very fleshed out. I like the character progression and will be looking forward to reading the two books that serve as sequels to it!

*Growth Area 2* This historical fiction book focuses on a little girl, Mirette who learns how to walk across a wire by the great Bellini (although she doesn't know that he is famous until later). It is based in Paris and it goes through Mirette working hard to learn how to walk across the wire. She wakes up early and dedicates a lot of time into learning. She loves the wire and wants to travel and perform with Bellini. However he shares that he is fearful and is scared to get back on the wire. One night he returns to the wire in front of a big crowd and Mirette, seeing he was nervous got on the wire and walked with him. The crowd loved them. It was fun to read about a story where a little girl had to be brave and helped out her mentor show more and sort of saved the day. I think students would enjoy reading about that. show less