Kate Greaves

The Little Acrobat Kate Greaves

1915 and young Millie's life has changed. The men are joining up for war and Mumma is busy in the music hall. Millie is a girl who notices things and there's lots she has to find out. What is Papa doing in the war? And where is he? And what is Mr Albert, the theatre manager, writing in his notebook? And why does he get money for the things he writes down? When Papa's sister, Aunt Kit, comes to stay, she brings an old toy circus and Millie is able to get some answers to her questions. And she learns too about being loyal, honest and brave. And Millie has hopes and dreams. More than anything else she wants to be a star and sing and dance, just like Mumma.... The back drop to Millie's story is WW1. A time of great change for young people. We see the men going to war and we learn about how they come home again, some badly injured. We find out what women did during the war, and how everyone at home had to be careful that they didn't let spies learn secrets about the war. And Millie comes from a music hall family and we are introduced to the world of the music hall at that time and how the stars helped with the war effort.