Picasso and the Greatest Show on Earth

A sweetly moving story about friendship and finding happiness, for readers who loved Wonder and Lenny's Book of Everything.

Frances is in a new house in a new neighbourhood and going to a new school, but no amount of new can make her forget the old, sad secret dragging at her heart. Not the pictures of bacteria that she draws with painstaking precision, not even Picasso, the puppy with the long soft ears and the cute black circle like a target on his bottom. Then Frances meets Kit, the tall, quiet boy with the two-coloured eyes. Kit is a real artist. His coloured pencils fill page after page of exercise books. He sees wonder in the rocks and ferns and sky. Though Kit has worries of his own.

But when secrets are spilled, Frances's life turns grey and drab. Not even Picasso's wet nose can brighten her up. Frances and Kit will need to face the truth of their pasts to find colour in their world again. After all, don't the most brilliant sunsets need a cloudy sky?

A beautiful novel about finding the remarkable in the ordinary and celebrating the wonder of every day, from the award-winning author of Borrowed Light.

'Marvellous, mind-opening, and deeply moving. The best book yet from this irresistible author.' Morris Gleitzman

'A beautifully written novel that encompasses such big things … Frances, Kit and Picasso will stay with me for quite a while.' Karen Foxlee

'I loved this book with my whole heart. It's truly beautiful. And a gift to readers, young and old.' Maryam Master

About the Author

Anna Fienberg has written more than forty well-loved books for children and young adults. Her career began when she worked as an editor for School Magazine, a NSW literary journal for children, which published her first story. She went on to win many awards for her novels and picture books, including the Children's Book Council of Australia award for The Magnificent Nose and Other Marvels, the Victorian Premier's Prize for Ariel, Zed and the Secret of Life, and the CBCA Honour Book for Horrendo's Curse and Borrowed Light, the latter also chosen as an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults.

Anna writes for all ages, and has been published all over the world. Her ever-popular Tashi books, illustrated by Kim Gamble, have inspired an animated series for television. The latest is Tashi and the Stolen Forest.