Sawdust in His Shoes

McGraw, Eloise Jarvis. Sawdust in his shoes, 1950. From the Bulletin of the Centre for Children's Books: "Fifteen-year-old Joe Lang had known nothing but circus life until the night his father was killed by a lion and the law stepped in to find a suitable guardian for him. Running away from the industrial school where he was placed pending the court's decision, Joe landed at Pop Dawson's farm with a badly cut leg and a distrust for all "gillies". The contrast between circus life and farm life is brought out quite strongly in Joe's adjustment to the farm and the community's acceptance of Joe. "