Review Detail

Carter has been going to the fair since he was a little kid, and now that he is twelve, it is dull, dull, dull. When he and his sister discover a new attraction at the fair, the Curious Maze, he assumes it is dull, dull, dull too. But then the maze-keeper, a certain Mr. Green, who has an almost leafy appearance, beckons him into what he promises is the most interesting attraction at the fair. Carter soon finds himself lost not only in the maze but also in time! He stumbles into a handful of different time periods, and must escape dangers in each while trying to help another lost boy find his mother, and then return to the present.

Dowding’s story is fast-paced and compelling, with just enough mystery to be spooky. Daigle’s illustrations complement the tone of the text, adding life to characters such as Creepy Leaf Girl, the British soldiers, and Mr. Green himself. While the premise of the story—that someone could travel to the same location in various time periods through a magic maze—is compelling, and Dowding includes a note at the end discussing the historical events on which she based her narrative, I found myself wishing she had approached some of these events more critically. For example, when Carter visits the Grand Fair of 1903 and sees people in the freak show, such as “Thumbelina, the world’s smallest mother,” the bearded lady, and the “Wild Man of Borneo,” he briefly notes that the latter “looks like he’s in a zoo” but the narrative moves on rapidly without looking back. In her note, Dowding does not offer any further comment on the common and atrocious practice of freak shows, nor does she discuss the colonial history of exploitation that lead to tensions between natives, the British, and the Americans in the area.

This story could work well in a place-based social studies unit, and as Dowding encourages, could lead readers to investigate the history of their own fair grounds or other important local sites. However, in doing so, it would be crucial to dig up viewpoints and stories that have traditionally been left out of history books.