Betti on the High Wire

Ten-year-old Babo and the other leftover kids live on an abandoned circus camp in a war-torn country. Babo believes her circus-star parents will come back for her any day now, so she is not one bit happy when an American couple adopts her. She hates her new name (Betti) and is confused by everything in America. She's determined to run away.

But as Betti slowly begins to trust her new family and even makes a friend, she decides maybe she can stay just one more day. And then maybe another . . .

Betti on the High Wire is both heartbreaking and hilarious--and completely unforgettable. This brave little storyteller of a girl will wiggle her way straight into your heart.

My daughters' worlds just got bigger, and closer

You can't NOT love Betti. Betti's country of origin is never revealed, which makes this a story about just about everyone. Both my daughters, so opposite each other in every way, instantly fell for her and her companions. My daughters are seven and nine, and both found the story alternately hilarious (we had to stop the story several times in the car to get ahold of ourselves so we could listen again) and heartbreaking (there were real tears of sympathy. From my 7-year-old!). What's more, I had the same rich experience. It opened up some really wonderful conversations between us, and made all of our worlds a little bigger, our neighbors a little more precious. Railsback and Gray are to be commended for their great work on this.