Mirette on the High Wire, Emily Arnold McCully
Mirette on the High Wire, Emily Arnold McCully
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Mirette on the High Wire

Author: Emily Arnold McCully

Narrator: Emily Arnold McCully

Unabridged: 10 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/04/2018


Synopsis

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 prose and own narration carries the listener over the rooftops of nineteenth-century Paris and into an elegant, beautiful world of acrobats, jugglers, mimes, actors, and one gallant, resourceful little girl.

About The Author

Emily Arnold McCully was born in Galesburg, Illinois, and grew up "a daredevil child," always climbing trees or buildings. She made it to college intact, however, and received her B.A. from Brown University and an M.A. in art history from Columbia University.Emily McCully's artwork has been included in the International Biennale at Bratislava, and she has won a Christopher Award for Picnic, one of the many picture books that she has both written and illustrated.Writing also for adults, Ms. McCully has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and New York State Council on the Arts. Her book, A Craving was nominated for an American Book Award.The idea for Mirette on the High Wire began as a biography of real-life daredevil Blondin. But the author changed her mind to accomodate the tree-climbing child and risk-taking adult she was and is.copyright © 2000 by Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers. All rights reserved.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Darla on October 12, 2022

The high wire walkers are an amazing breed of performer. They balance on the smallest of walkways and then add in tricks and props making their feats even more amazing. This picture book about Mirette learning to walk on the high wire is a Caldecott winner and a classic in the read aloud arena. Set......more

Goodreads review by Calista on January 20, 2019

The setting is a hotel in France a 100 years ago. Mirette helps her mother who runs a great hotel for traveling artists like circus performers and people in traveling shows. Bellini comes to rent a room and Mirette finds him walking on the clothesline. Mirette becomes obsessed and she starts to prac......more

Goodreads review by Hilary on March 29, 2020

Mirette is a young girl who lives in Paris. Set around 100 years ago, we meet Mirette in her mother's boarding house. When a new lodger arrives who has the unusual occupation of being a tightrope walker, Mirette is inspired to learn this precarious pastime. The illustrations are nice enough but I fo......more

Goodreads review by Abigail on January 05, 2020

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......more

Goodreads review by Shelby on January 26, 2021

I totally understand why this book is an award-winning book. The story is very uplifting and tells children to never give up on their dreams no matter what anyone thinks or tells them. Mirette was insistent on learning on how to walk a tight rope and Bellini refused to teach her, so what did she do,......more


Quotes

★"Mirette makes an enviable and plucky heroine; young readers will want to pull on their own high-button boots and join her as she dances between the rooftops." --BCCB, starred review

★"A bravura performance." --Horn Book, starred review

★"A satisfying, high-spirited adventure." --School Library Journal, starred review

"An exotic, suspenseful story." --Kirkus Reviews


Awards

  • Caldecott Medal Winner