FICTION

Emma's Circus

by Candace FLEMING
illus. by Christine Davenier. 40p. Farrar/Margaret Ferguson Bks. Jul. 2017. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780374399078.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 2—The circus is in town, and Emma longs to see it. "Sorry," says her dad. There are too many farm chores to be finished before winter. But does a bear on a unicycle wink at Emma as it zips by? Believe it or not, over the course of several days, more and more circus performers show up to play with Emma in the barn, exiting only when Mama hollers, "Supper!" Nobody else notices a thing until the day the family throw open the barn doors and find Emma's circus. What a performance they witness, with acrobats, jugglers, sword swallowers, elephants, camels, lions, and, of course, the original unicycling bear. Davenier's happy, splashy ink and watercolor illustrations tell the story with dynamic, cluttered detail.
VERDICT A fun and rollicking read-aloud to share with a group. Children will linger over each increasingly crowded page, enjoying the ways the farm animals get into the act.
Reviewed by Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY
Emma is dying to go to the circus, but her farming family is too busy. Then a unicycling bear appears, followed the next day by two horn-playing seals, then three juggling monkeys, and on until the whole circus arrives and performs. Autumnal golds and reds create a cheerful setting for the buoyant but nostalgic story.
 , Jun 01, 2017

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