Peter Spier's Circus

by Peter Spier

Come join the circus as Caldecott Medal-winner Peter Spier takes you for a look under the big top!

The circus is coming to town! Take your front row seat to see how a circus runs—from setting up the tent to performing center ring. Go soaring through the air on the flying trapeze and see how performers from all over the world come together to put on a show. With showbiz excitement that only the circus can create—and Peter Spier's signature humorous details waiting to be discovered on every page—this book is a guaranteed ticket to fun and adventure.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Peter Spier has established himself as one of the most gifted illustrators in this county. His Noah's Ark was the 1978 Caldecott Award winner, while The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night was a Caldecott Honor book in 1962. The firs two books in his widely acclaimed Mother Goose Library, London Bridge Is Falling Down! and To Market! To Market! were winner and runner-up respectively for the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. The Erie Canal and Noah's Ark both won Christopher Awards, while Gobble, Growl, Grunt received Honorable Mention in the first Children's Science Book Award program, sponsored by the New York Academy of Science.

Born and educated in Amsterdam, Mr. Spier came to New York in 1952 after serving in the Royal Dutch Navy and working for a number of years as a reporter for Elsevier's Weekly, Holland's largest magazine. He has illustrated over a hundred books and has contributed a series of murals to the H. F. Du Pont Winterthur Museum in Delaware.

Reviews

[Sophia Triad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not really a fan of books about circus, especially children’s books about circus. This one has really boring, long text and long, easily-forgotten names for the main characters.

But
a) The illustrations are simply amazing! Everything is represented to its last detail. You will easily talk about the pictures with your kid and you will forget about the text.
b) The people who work in that specific circus come from a variety of countries and they are also people from different backgrounds and family statuses. I like the diversity.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun book by Spier and a delightful look at the circus!

Ages: 4 - 8

Cleanliness: there are a few pages with women wearing two pieces.

**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it! Visit my website: The Book Radar.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book doesn't have the magnetism of many children's books. We tend to skip the text and instead just talk about the pictures.

[Shiloah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Educational without pretentiousness. Loved the illustrations.

[SKP · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a children’s librarian for 35 years before retiring, and I attended library school in the pre-Internet era. During my time there, I actually did a report on Peter Spier for a class in the study of illustration of children’s books. I love his very detailed artwork, though it is not as effective for a large group storytime as it would be for a parent to read to their own children. At the beginning of my career, he was still pretty hot, although of course he is not as popular nowadays. I thought the detail in this particular book was amazing, and I do wonder if it was based on a real circus. I’ve never been a big fan of circuses myself, and didn’t do Circus themes very much as a children’s librarian, but if I had, I would have considered using this book. Even though the details are fine, as I recall, a lot of his books were extremely large, so they might have worked in a storytime.

[Emily Kono]

Throughout the story, every part of the circus is described from when they arrive to when they pack up. Spiers describes each person and their act, putting emphasis on where they are from. The story also described how the animals arrived and got checked out before the show started. I would recommend this book for children 4-7 because older kids may already know about a circus and won't be as interested. Younger children also are into animals more than older children, so they would enjoy that aspect of the book as well. This book would also be a good book for children who can't read because the images are very intricate and have small details that can be observed for an extended length of time and keep the child engaged.

[Alyson Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throughout the story, every second of the circus is described from when they arrive to when they pack up. Every circus performer was also from every country. Spiers describes each person and their act, putting emphasis on where they are from. This way, the readers get a sense of unity from all the countries in the world. The story also described how the animals arrived and got checked out before the show started. I would recommend this book for children 4-7 because older kids may already know about a circus and won't be as interested. Younger children also are into animals more than older children, so they would enjoy that aspect of the book as well.

[Becca Peterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was about the behind the scenes of a circus and what happens that we don't see. It talks about the roles of everything in the circus and how thing can get exhausting. It talked about the different acts that were at the circus and who was involved in each. This book is like the day in the life of the circus.

[EJLJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and colorful pages and story. The personalization of each act being described and explained brings the book to life for not only children, but also adults. Spier is an amazing artist, and the intricacies and details of this book add to his outstanding books.

[Bryce Hall]

This book is a step-by-step process of the things that need to happen for a circus to happen. It will help younger kids understand chronological order and understand that things happen in order to reach the end goal.

[EN · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible pictures! Looking at all the wonderful drawings takes longer than it does to read the words - if you don't want to miss anything that is happening!

[Kira Nerys · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful--and probably mythical--image of a classic circus. I love the vivid, lively, colorful illustrations and the multilingual, multinational makeup of the circus troupe.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite Spier book.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

every time we read this I want to go to the circus so much! Peter spire's wordless books are just amazing.

[Eric Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As much you might not "read" a Peter Spier book, the visual journey in this children's volume is superb as Spier always delivers.

[Jessica Marquis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful peek into another world.
So much to study in these illustrations!

[Edna Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book illustrates all the animals that used to be in a circus back in time. It tells everything that it takes to form a circus. It also tells everything is done behind the curtains to put a smile on children's faces. The illustrations are beautifully painted. A lot of details are present. The author takes you a circus set up to the whole view of the circus. It is fun to get to know all it takes to build a circus. People from different parts of the world showing their talents is amazing.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like juvenile easy books with busy pictures - it seems like a great way to engage kids, letting them pick things out, look for similarities (like the obvious clowns) between pages, and do more than just listen.
The characters come from all over the world. There are a lot of names, but they're only ever mentioned on one page, except the circus owner's - you don't have to remember who's who.

Circuses and especially acts with animals are dying out, so this book will feel dated soon (if not already). A possible replacement would be something set at a state fair.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can tell a Republican runs this circus. The poor mother horse only gets a month off after foaling. Seriously, what's up with that?

Now, forgetting for a moment that this is intended as a children's book: there is something seriously surreal going on here. Spier writes this in a detached, abstract, sort of journalistic way. As if he's writing an exposé on the circus. For kids. But in a way that they couldn't really grasp. He's not really judging the circus. But he's showing you what's going on under the tent flap. He'll let you judge for yourself.

But then again, the circus looks crazy fun.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The detailed pictures in this story make it best for one-on-one reading, but since it gives so much information, I use it as a "talk aloud" as we look at the pictures.

We learned about the work involved in packing, moving, unpacking, rehearsing, and performing. We also noticed how multicultural the circus troupe is: Japan, China, Hungary, Holland, New Zealand, Russia, India...so many countries are part of the story!

[Kameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peter Spier is amazing. This is our second book of his checked out from the library and neither Jack nor I ever get tired of looking at the detailed, amazing illustrations. This book has so many neat behind-the-scenes looks at a circus set up, the people from all over the world who perform, the clean up, etc. We are hooked on this guy!

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

A day in the circus from beginning to end, set up to tear down, sunrise to sunset. I loved that Spier included the behind the scenes illustrations including the school trailer and the transformation of two men into full clown make up and costume. I never tire of looking at Spier's detailed illustrations as there is something new to be found everytime.

[Cana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mommy says: Elaborate and detailed pictures and slightly sophisticated text show how a circus is set up, performs and is taken down. My kids were enthralled with the pictures while I read what was going on.

[Winslow · Rating 3 out of 5]

You like to point out the poop which is copiously strewn about the pages of the book. You love the ringmaster and finding the violin on each page.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous illos!

[Charlotte Osborn-bensaada · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing pictures, found the text rather dry.

[Emily Augustus --Louisville KY · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book I use before our class goes to the circus. It introduces great vocabulary, and has awesome pictures my students enjoy.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations! The text was very long, but would be great for elementary aged kids.