Audience:The audience for the book is primary elementary. I think it would best fit third grade.Appeal: I think boys and girls would find this interesting since it contains circus animals. It takes place in the sea and on an island which also appeals to children who may not have experience knowing what it is.Application: I would use this book in the language arts content area as the book is written in rhymes and could easily be incorporated in a poetry lesson. It could also be used as a read aloud in a large group discussion about the negatives with the use of the concepts carelessness and greed. The positive concepts of heroic acts and kindness can be incorporated as well.Award: Golden Sower Award 2012Copyright: 2009 I loved the rhyming text and wonderful detailed drawings. Kid's will enjoy this tale of a circus ship sinking and the animals moving ashore. At first they are not such welcome guests in the small town, but soon the townspeople embrace them. Van Dusen's delightful and sometimes whimsical animals reminded me a lot of Graeme Base's animals in books like Jungle Drums and Enigma. There is even a two page spread near the end where the animals have hidden that kids will adore pouring over as they try to find all the cleverly hidden animals.
This is a beautifully illustrated book and a fun story
—ayanarose
I really enjoyed this book!
—rojocanillas
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—helenna75
