This blog post is marked as an AD (advert) because I received press tickets and a copy of the book free of charge in exchange for creating this content. I aim to be transparent in order to retain your trust and I hope you will continue to support the Thrifty Mumma Thrifty Bubba blog and social media channels.
As a child the circus fascinated me. I distinctly remember reading the book Little Bear and the Papagini Circus with my Dad and marvelling at the baby bear, loved by his circus family and dazzling audiences in bright, colourful costume. When my Mum won tickets to the circus it was so exciting to step inside the tent and watch the performers flying on the trapeze.
As an adult, I have loved watching and listening to The Greatest Showman and seeing the resurgence in families going to the circus. The circus is very much alive and thriving.
Bubba and I were kindly invited to attend the launch and signing of Nell and the circus of dreams – a beautiful book written by Nell Gifford, founder of Giffords Circus.
The story focuses on the young Nell and her pet chicken who goes missing and is found, centre stage at the circus!
The illustrations by Briony May Smith who, like me, is a fellow University College Falmouth graduate, are absolutely beautiful and lift the magical story off the page and into the minds of children and adults alike.
We were all treated to a reading of the story by Nell herself before a question and answer session where Nell was inundated with children’s questions ranging from ‘Why do people at the circus speak different languages?’ (because the circus is a celebration of cultures and countries) to ‘What does Rosebud like to eat?’ (chicken feed).
The morning made clear that all you need is a little creativity. Nell then encouraged her young audience members to draw their own Rosebud portraits and explained how sometimes, it’s easier to draw if you focus on the object and don’t look at the paper.
Nell also explained how a dressing up box was an important part of her childhood (and mine!) and shared how some of the costumes in the early Giffords Circus actually were from a dressing up box.
Nell even introduced her real life pet chicken Rosebud to the audience – Bubba was absolutely enthralled!
We happily queued for Nell to sign and personalise our copy of her book and it was lovely to speak to her and hear her talk with passion about the latest Giffords Circus show ‘Xanadu’.
Thank you to Giffords Circus for inviting us to attend the book launch and thank you to Nell for sharing your beautiful book with us.
Do you and your children love the circus? Comment below and let me know.
As always, thank you so much for reading.
Love, Thrifty Mumma X
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To find out more about Nell and to pre-order your own copy of the book please click here.
To find out more about Giffords Circus and to book tickets please visit the dedicated website: https://www.giffordscircus.com
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