The Tightrope Wanderer

A traveling performer wanders all around the world to showcase his talent of walking through the air on a tightrope made from a single strand of his impossibly long hair. As the years go on, his hair becomes thinner and thinner, and he must decide how he will face his final opportunities to touch the sky. "Timeless...enduring wisdom." —Foreword Starred Review "Lyrical language and quiet reflections on nature and fate are what power this tale." —Kirkus Reviews "Quietly profound and visually arresting, this is destined to become an intergenerational selection..." —School Library Journal In this whimsical story, a tightrope walker must balance more than just his body as he faces changes that threaten his way of life by embracing lessons he has learned from the world around him. Once, there was a tightrope walker. For forty years, he traveled the world in wind-colored clothing and a bright red bandana, never staying in one town for more than a day. At each new place, he would pluck a single strand of his impossibly long hair and walk across it, with balance, courage, faith, and grace. As he began, he would recall a wise saying he had once heard: “The world is a very narrow bridge. The secret is not to be afraid.” As the years went on, he noticed his hair growing thinner and thinner. He sought every remedy, but nothing worked to replace the many hairs he had pulled out. The more he performed, the fewer there were, until not one remained and the tightrope walker had to find a whole new way to touch the sky.