King of the Tightrope

Born to the talented French circus family the Gravelets, Jean-Francois Gravelet (better known by his stage name, The Great Blondin) is raised on a tightrope. Feeling bored and having already accomplished an amazing number of feats on the tightrope, including walking on stilts, riding a bike, and even cooking an omelet on a stove, in 1859 he comes up with an idea that challenges his skill, nerve, and showmanship: to walk a tightrope across Niagara Falls. Gravelet faces endless obstacles to surmount to accomplish his goal. And despite his fame as a performer, nothing about the feat is easy. Making the necessary arrangements is difficult. Permission to stretch a rope across the falls has to be obtained. A means for actually stretching and tightening the rope has to be devised. And when it is all in place, Gravelet has to actually stand up on the rope and walk out over the abyss. Bowman accomplishes the rare feat of sharing a remarkable moment in history with masterful storytelling that engages readers and teaches without the feel of a textbook. In perfect harmony of skill, Gustavson’s gouache and watercolor illustrations make the show shine as he captures Blondin’s lifetime of feats from various points of view, beautifully capturing the theatrics of the man with repeating one man tight-rope parades. Elements spill out over the white frame of the illustrations, paralleling The Great Blondin’s efforts to push the boundaries of what is possible.