The Circus Ship: (A Rhyming Adventure of Circus Animals Finding a New Home - For Preschoolers, Kindergarteners, and 1st-3rd Graders Ages 4-8)

Hands down one of my favorite books to read to my toddler (2 yrs) kiddo. My toddler has a ferocious appetite for story time, so we end up cycling through a lot of picture books. There are some kiddo likes and I think are horrible. There are some that are just fine. But this one is great for both of us. The pictures are well drawn and very colorful. The rhyming and lyricism of the words makes it fun and easy to read. And the story is super charming! There are even parts that can lend themselves to "find/seek" discussions with your kiddo. This has even become my go-to when purchasing books for gifting purposes.

This book has everything: a shipwreck, an house on fire, advocating for animal rights, and a bad guy who gets what’s coming. It gives “Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs” vibes but with more tigers in people’s bathtubs. The story is delightful, the rhymes are snappy, and the illustrations are gold. There’s even a hilarious “find the hidden animals” page where the circus creatures blend into the town, proving once and for all that a giraffe can, in fact, be sneaky. My kid loves it. I love it. And we both agree that any book where animals outsmart villains is a winner.

I absolutely love this book. My two year old wanted it read to him every night and had it practically memorized. Such a sweet book. I now buy this book for any toddler birthday we attend. The illustrations are beautiful too.

A delightful book for readers young and old! Author and illustrator Chris van Dusen’s tale (loosely based on a true story of a circus ship wreck) draws you in with an impressive combination of lyrical rhyme and stunning illustrations full of details. Readers should know that this book tells the tale of a circus ship steered by a kind-hearted captain but lead by the villainous circus owner. When left to fend for themselves after their ship crashes, the animals make their way to a nearby village, and what happens next is heart-warming. Be sure to look for the animals hidden on many pages throughout the book, but especially notice the full spread where the townspeople have hidden the animals from the circus owner. While the circus owner is indeed cold-hearted, van Dusen’s over-the-top depictions of the owner led our girls (ages 2.5 and 5) to laugh rather than worry. Publishers target this for ages 4-8. Our younger children have asked for this again and again, and every adult in our extended family truly enjoyed reading it over and over. It was a hit for all ages!

We purchased this book for our boys several years ago... after first coming across If I Built a Car. Really all of his books are fantastic. I let my kids choose which books to read every night and inevitably it is a Van Dusen book. We love the Circus Ship mostly for the animals!! The illustrations are magnificent but in this book you must also find the animals - which is really not as easy as it sounds. When you finally do find the animals, I notice the kids study how they were "hidden" in the first place. Mind you, we've been reading this book for YEARS now and they never tire of it. I personally love the cadence of the story, and I love how the bad guy is depicted. Keep in mind that the artwork is such that you can not just blow through this book - I read each page slowly and with care, and the kids will still insist on studying each page for just a little bit more time. It truly is a great book with a sweet message, and I highly recommend it. Check out his other books too - they are all very well done.

This book is amazing! My 6 year old daughter flipped back to the cover after we finished it and asked why it didn’t have a sticker award! The rhyme is fun to read but the illustrations really bring it to life. It’s such a satisfying story and we loved looking for all 15 hidden animals. Definitely her favorite page! Excellent book!

This book is adorable. My son and I love to read it. A very clever take and fun “find the animal” page that keeps us entertained.

Where to start? I have only praises to say about this book. Our family has purchased several copies of this specific book over the past 10 years. The book reads smoothly with a rhyming beat. It uses great vocabulary words but not to the point of loosing interest of a 3 year old. The story is captivating. The illustrations are mesmerizing. You can look at a page 5 different times and find something new each time. I have personally read this book so many times I have it memorized. It gets requested at our house more than any other book. I also like to give this book as a gift. Vibrant colors make for a cute baby or young child’s gift.

I believe that I love this story and the illustrations every bit as much as my 3 1/2 year-old granddaughter does. She is familiar with all of the animals from visits to the zoo and from their frequent appearances in other toddler's stories.

One of our very favourite books for a bright, animal-loving 3-4 year old. Especially enjoy the illustrations and the page where all the animals are hiding, we love to go through and find them all! Writing is also supurb, based on a true story no less!

Our children enjoyed this book so much from the library we decided to purchase. We’ve also purchased as gifts for friend’s children with the ages between 3-7yrs. The story is very interesting. The book takes a few minutes to read. Each page holds our kids interest. The illustrations are very unique. There are lots of different animals in the story to search for on each page that our kids enjoy finding. Great book.

A lovely feel good book, teaching love for animals.

Es libro infantil de 4 años, pero la lectura, para un niño de 8 años, español, de colegio bilingüe es complicado. Lo estamos leyendo entre los dos. Muchas palabras nuevas! Pero muy bonito.