Review by Booklist Review
Ages 4-8. Beginning with a billboard heralding the Circus McNulty, this lively picture book details what happens when the circus comes to town: the setting up, rehearsal, performance, striking, and setting out again for the next town. The text is often interesting, occasionally tedious, and mainly serves as a voice-over for the main attraction--Spier's artwork. Visually oriented kids will enjoy the detailed ink-and-watercolor paintings showing expected acts under the big top as well as circus families in their mobile homes and stores, in the computerized office on wheels, and in the schoolroom trailer. While teachers and librarians looking for a circus book to read aloud will probably reach for Ehlert's more succinct Circus [BKL Ja 1 92], Spier provides a satisfying picture book for children who want to spend a little time imagining the circus while poring over the illustrations at their own pace. ~--Carolyn Phelan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Through his trademark, meticulous attention to detail, Caldecott winner Spier ( Noah's Ark ) not only spotlights a sensational circus extravaganza, but also examines its many elaborate components--from the various staff members' arrival in town to preparations for the big show itself to the packing up to move on to the tour's next stop. Spier's prose ranges from his terse opening (``Setting up: a crew of 32 men and women. Riggers, mechanics, carpenters, plumbers, and electricians . . . 14 acres of canvas . . . 100 miles of ropes and wires . . . '') to his easygoing, witty description of a bald animal trainer (``Austrian Mr. Bauer takes a bow with his llamas. They have more hair than he does!''). More consistent are his colorfully cluttered portrayals of the circus goings-on--behind the scenes as well as under the big top. This deservedly lauded author puts on a spectacle that is the next best thing to having front-row seats on the center ring. Ages 5-9. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-- In the spirit of Peter Spier's Rain (1982) and Peter Spier's Christmas (1983, both Doubleday), this premier illustrator offers a glorious new treat. As the Circus McNulty rolls into town, readers see an empty field transformed into a miniature village, with a one-room school housed in a trailer truck; a vet who checks all the animals before the performance; and an international troupe of trainers, clowns, and acrobats. After the players have been introduced, it's showtime: trick riders; trained seals, bears and lions; plate spinners; and the human cannonball. Even the intermission has its joys. ``But all good things must come to an end . . . '' As the cars slowly bump their way out, the cleanup crew is hard at work; and six hours later the field is left once again to the rabbits. The focus here is on the pictures, of course, with the breezy text serving more as captions than story. Spier's familiar blues and greens are used to great effect in the moonlit double spreads of the elephants parading to and from the train, and bright splashes of red and yellow in smaller, cartoon pictures that break up the pages. He has a sharp eye for the kind of detail young readers like. Better suited for individual reading than for storytimes, this will be a great addition to the always-sparse selection of circus books, and children will undoubtedly want to pore over it. Buy lots--you'll need them! --Caroline Parr, Central Rappahannock Regional Library, Fredericksburg, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Spier fills every bit of the volume with busy scenes following the travels, preparation, and performance of a one-ring circus. Small vignettes liberally sprinkled among the larger views cut back and forth from behind-the-scenes life to the actual performance. Spier's characteristic sketches lightly tinted in watercolor are an energetic tour de force. From HORN BOOK 1992, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In the large, square format of his Christmas (1983), the Caldecott medalist lovingly details a large traveling circus: their departure from winter quarters, setting up the big top, a full performance, and a last glimpse of the abandoned site in a city's rural outskirts. No surprises here, but lots of authentic minutiae to explore in the deft, evocative art (Spier thanks the people of the Big Apple Circus for their help); also a plus is the emphasis on the many nationalities of the expert performers and on the way whole families are involved. A treat. Processors beware: the endpapers are part of the story! (Picture book. 4-9)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
