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jaij7's review against another edition
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed searching for the animals on the page and the story line. Good book for K-3rd grade.
kristenremenar's review against another edition
4.0
Nice rhyme and meter, this is the story of a circus ship that sinks and all the animals end up on an island to the surprise of all the locals. The fun part is when the evil circus master comes to collect the animals and the islanders hide them all - see if the kids can spot all 15 hidden animals!
This won an Honor for the Comstock Book Award for 2010 (best picture book to read aloud to older children).
This won an Honor for the Comstock Book Award for 2010 (best picture book to read aloud to older children).
sfujii's review against another edition
4.0
This is really a 3.5 for me. The beginning is actually kind of scary. Page 3 has this big mustached circus conductor yelling ferociously at the boat's captain, and then the boat freaking sinks leaving a bunch of animal swimming in the ocean. Kind of dark for kiddy books. Also, I read the last page tonight, and it turns out it was loosely based off of a similar true story about a circus boat that caught fire and most of the people and animals died. Cool Van Dusen. Great idea for a kids story.
BUT, Amaya loves this book. The post-sinking horror show includes an island that welcomes the animals and hides them when that jerk face circus guy comes looking for them.
BUT, Amaya loves this book. The post-sinking horror show includes an island that welcomes the animals and hides them when that jerk face circus guy comes looking for them.
lattelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
"Mr. Paine looked high and low but still he couldn't see the fifteen circus animals of his menagerie."
This book is bright, fun, and rhyming, not to mention an I-Spy and poem wrapped up into a picture book perfect for entertaining! This is another one of those picture books where I probably spent more time looking at the pictures than reading--which isn't to say that the poetry wasn't absolutely charming.
Mr. Paine, a circus leader, struggles to get a ship to Boston from Maine. But a storm overturns the ship and the animals swim to safety to an isle off the coast of Maine. When Mr. Paine finds out where they are, he returns to take them back, but the townspeople have learned to love these exotic animals and help them to hide.
Imagine my surprise when Mr. Paine is looking for all 15 of his animals...but I could only find 13 on my first pass! This is an engaging and interactive picture book whose illustrations are way more detailed than you'd ever expect. Great for the animal-loving child.
This book is bright, fun, and rhyming, not to mention an I-Spy and poem wrapped up into a picture book perfect for entertaining! This is another one of those picture books where I probably spent more time looking at the pictures than reading--which isn't to say that the poetry wasn't absolutely charming.
Mr. Paine, a circus leader, struggles to get a ship to Boston from Maine. But a storm overturns the ship and the animals swim to safety to an isle off the coast of Maine. When Mr. Paine finds out where they are, he returns to take them back, but the townspeople have learned to love these exotic animals and help them to hide.
Imagine my surprise when Mr. Paine is looking for all 15 of his animals...but I could only find 13 on my first pass! This is an engaging and interactive picture book whose illustrations are way more detailed than you'd ever expect. Great for the animal-loving child.
allmadhere106's review against another edition
5.0
For: animal/circus fans; readers looking for a book with rhythm and a look-and-find element.
Possible red flags: characters in peril.
Possible red flags: characters in peril.