Cannonball Simp

by John Burningham

A small dog, abandoned near a trash dump and captured by a dog catcher, finds a place for herself when she is befriended by a circus clown whose act needs improving.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Dogs, Fiction

32 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1966

About the author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bur...

Married to Helen Oxenbury They have one son and two daughters.

John Burningham was born in 1936 in Farnham, Surrey, and attended the alternative school, Summerhill. In 1954 he spent two years travelling through Italy, Yugoslavia and Israel, working at a variety of jobs.

From 1956-1959, he studied at the Central School of Art, after which he designed posters for London Transport and the British Transport Commission. He also spent a year on an animated puppet film in the Middle East. He then became a writer and illustrator of children's books, his first book, Borka: The Adventures of a Goose With No Feathers (1963) winning the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1963, an achievement he repeated with Mr Gumpy's Outing (1970).

Since then, he has written and illustrated many children's books. He is also a freelance designer of murals, exhibitions models, magazine illustrations and advertisements.

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any story that starts with a poor puppy that is described as too ugly for anyone to want so is driven to a dump and left there, is going to get lots of animal loving children engaged, thinking poor little thing, what will happen to her? Needless to say the puppy called Simp finds another lonely soul and there is a happy ending.

We noticed that inside the front cover is a photo of Lulu the real life inspiration for this book. We do hope dogs can't secretly read. Imagine Lulu noticing the book was inspired by her and thinking how lovely of my owner and then reading the first page!

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites from childhood. Recently re-read it and it holds up. Also provides a bit of a balm for Coulrophobia (clown phobia).

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the book I will always remember because I told my 1st grade teacher that I had read it - when I hadn't. My Mom saw it on the list, thought it was too hard for me an called me out on it. Then the next Saturday I remember sitting in my room reading it instead of playing outside. That was my punishment. It was sooo long. And it was hard. I read it to my kids when they were little. They liked it even before they heard the story, and then they LOVED it.

[Sylvia Swann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my favorite childhood books. I still have it and reread it recently. It is still beautiful. I was so happy that she joined the circus and found joy and purpose. I love the illustrations so much. I would love to find a little dog just like Simp someday. Hopefully I'd find her at a shelter, not next to a garbage dump.

[Lenny Husen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those gems, a children's book about a little black circus dog named Simp and about how she found her place in the world after being lost and abandoned. Sometimes the books discarded from public libraries are diamonds.

[Alain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite book when I was a kid. I still have my copy.

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who could not love Simp? Who could not cheer for her and her friend the clown? A delightful story of love and faith that shouldn't be missed.

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 4 out of 5]

an ugly dog AND a circus clown? How can you go wrong with that? It's a super cute story with stylishly interesting drawings.

[Nicola Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an old favourite in my family. We had a little rescue dog that looked just like Simp. My son really struggled at school and wasn't diagnosed with dyslexia until he was much older,he is now 23! He absolutely loved this book especially the quirky illustrations. He would ask you to read it over and over and giggle,especially at the picture of Simp on the back of the horse :-) It really did amused him,I think it still does. This story is about loss,rejection,friendship and finding the courage to discover where you belong in the world. A great story for everyone. There is a little Cannonball Simp in all of us!

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am almost 50, and still, every time I see a stubby black dog, I think of Simp. This book shaped my childhood and fractured my heart. My first pangs of love and empathy were defined by Simp and his clown, my anxiety given shape by pictures of hissing cats and shadowy men in hats. Human emotions given a face by this sweet dog that shines despite the darkness that lurks in the unspoken words and the edges of the pictures in this story of unlikely friendships between outcasts. This book still makes me cry because I love Simp so much. 💕

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great pictures underline a quiet happy sad story.

[Andy Verschoyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

moving story beautifully drawn

interesting thing about animal stories is they tend to make the reader focus on the emotional and moral aspects rather than the character

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book as a child! We had a black dog and I used to imagine that he had been on wild adventures like Simp.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watched Matthew Broderick read this for Chicago Public Library's Live from the Library

[Amar Pai · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as Burningham’s best, but hints of his vision. The circus managers illustration cracked me up

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just saw a dog today that reminded me of a childhood favorite book, Cannonball Simp!!!

[Jennifer LaCasse · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book as a child. I even had a dog named “Little Black Dog” that looked just like Simp. I’m happy to still have my original copy from when I was young.

[Cathal Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got distracted by book logging. I had to check it was a kid's book. Yeah.
Also check that there were no more teeth marks on the pages. Who lets their kid eat books??

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Go, Simp!