Secrets of the Cirque Medrano Book

Travel to 1904/1905 Paris with 14-year-old Brigitte Dubrinsky who is sent to live with her aunt and uncle in the lively Montmartre area of the city after death of her mother in Warsaw. The couple runs a café that is often frequented by bohemian artists and writers, including a young Pablo Picasso and his friends. The lonely French-Polish orphan finds herself in a strange new world. She works hard in the café, but finds delight in the observing the café's patrons and watching the acrobats, jugglers, and other performers of the nearby Cirque Medrano. She becomes friends with Paco'one of the circus performers and model for Picasso's famous Family of Saltimbanques that the artist is working on throughout the story. Because of her co-worker Henri'a young Russian expatriate bent of recruiting Picasso to join the coming Russian revolution'Paco and Brigitte find themselves involved in international intrigue as they try to elude the dangerous Russian secret police who are out to get Henri, his compatriots, and even Picasso. Picasso's Family of Saltimbanques currently hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Learn more about it at www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/20cent.... (Recommended for grades 5-8)