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Book Cover for: Paloma Joins the Circus, Lupe Ruiz-Flores

Paloma Joins the Circus

Lupe Ruiz-Flores

A story of following your dreams and growing into new ones, of finding home in the people around you, and of creating something beautiful through hard work and perseverance.

Twelve-year-old Paloma comes from "circus people"―a family of performers traveling around Texas with la carpa, a Mexican American tent show. She dreams of becoming a tightrope walker, like her mother was, but her father forbids it.

In the summer of 1939, Paloma travels with the circus to help with chores. She hatches a plan to show her father that she has what it takes to join as a permanent performer. While secretly training to walk the high wire, she forges powerful bonds with other circus members. But she also discovers circus life isn't all glamor, and she must decide if la carpa is where she's truly meant to be.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Carolrhoda Books (R)
  • Publish Date: Aug 4th, 2026
  • Pages: 216
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 0.00in - 0.00in - 0.00in - 0.00lb
  • EAN: 9798765683217
  • Recommended age: 08-12
  • Categories: Historical - United States - 20th CenturyPerforming Arts - Circus

About the Author

Ruiz-Flores, Lupe: - Lupe Ruiz-Flores is the author of six bilingual picture books. She is a former Regional Advisor for the Southwest Chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and until recently its newsletter editor. Lupe has won the SCBWI Work-In-Progress Grant, the SCBWI/Amazon Work-in-Progress Grant, and the SCBWI Martha Weston Award. She is a member of the Writers League of Texas, Texas Library Association, Las Musas, and Kindling Words. She was awarded the Tejas Star Book Award for three consecutive years. Her poetry and short stories have been published in anthologies, including Thanku: Poems of Gratitude. She was recently inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters.

Praise for this book

"Thrilling! . . . Young readers will cheer on Paloma."--Catherine Stier, author of I Am Jax, Protector of the Ranch

-- (12/4/2025 12:00:00 AM)

"Will appeal to kids whose dreams . . . soar beyond their ordinary lives."--Diane Gonzales Bertrand, award-winning author of Trino's Choice and The Ruiz Street Kids

-- (12/4/2025 12:00:00 AM)

"A heartwarming story."--Susan K. Holt, author of The Book That Jake Borrowed and There Once Was a Cowgirl

-- (12/4/2025 12:00:00 AM)