Sidewalk Circus

by Paul Fleischman, Kevin Hawkes (Illustrator)

This delightful book will fascinate children and help them to see their world with new eyes.
-- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (starred review)

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Step right up and witness an astounding assemblage of tightrope walkers, strong men, sword swallowers, and clowns. The Garibaldi Circus is coming soon, but for those with clear eyes, the performers may already be in the ring. So get ready to sharpen your vision and look very closely -- a show like you've never seen is about to begin! The creators of WESLANDIA are back in the spotlight with a spectacular, wordless picture book that shows the transformative power of imagination.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Kids

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Paul Fleischman grew up in Santa Monica, California. The son of well-known children's novelist Sid Fleischman, Paul was in the unique position of having his famous father's books read out loud to him by the author as they were being written. This experience continued throughout his childhood.
Paul followed in his father's footsteps as an author of books for young readers, and in 1982 he released the book "Graven Images", which was awarded a Newbery Honor citation.
In 1988, Paul Fleischman came out with "Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices", an unusually unique collection of poetry from the perspective of insects. This book was awarded the 1989 John Newbery Medal. Factoring in Sid Fleischman's win of the John Newbery Medal in 1987 for his book "The Whipping Boy", Paul and Sid Fleischman became to this day the only father and son authors to both win the John Newbery Medal.

Reviews

[Mischenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

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This picture story begins in the city streets with regular everyday people going about their day while observing others around them. The Garibaldi Circus will soon be coming to the city, but what’s really happening in the shadows might be more interesting than you think. Children will notice that our ordinary lives are more interesting than we think and all we need to do is pay attention to what’s happening around us.

We enjoyed the book and ended up starting it over twice. You really have to pay attention to the shadows to see what’s going on. It’s a really unique book and we loved the illustrations.

4****

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh too cute. I'm a fan of books that encourage readers to look at the world from a fresh perspective, whether they're toddlers' metafiction or adults' science fiction or anything in between. This comes at it from a direction I've never seen before. How wonderful to be able to see the extraordinary in the everyday, as the girl in this story does.

Do note that this resembles a wordless book because there's no narration or dialogue. But the words on the signs are very helpful and I would not share this without reading them.

[Gloria Clayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A theme that I saw throughout this nearly-wordless picturebook was that imagination is powerful and a gift. I think that having a younger girl seeing the city street in a playful imaginative way was a purposeful nod to the gift that children have that we as adults don't always see the magic in things around us the way they do. I think there was probably some cultural relevance to city life too.

[Kaileen Avila]

good reads 9/6 - this book is great for childrens imagination since there is no pictures.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sidewalk Circus/ Paul Fleischman/ 2004
Genre: fiction, worldless
Format: picture book
Plot Summary: A young girl watches as the activities across the street from her bus stop become a circus.
Considerations: no red flags
Review Citation:School Library Journal; Jul2004, Vol. 50 Issue 7,p75-75,1p
Selection Source: Novelist
Recommended age: 4-10

[Alexandra Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVED. The last of the three wordless picture books I've read. There are so many wonderful details you can catch on each reread, and so many different interpretations. Great for my students, and as an adult, so wonderful to be so immersed back into an imagination that many of us have lost by now.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A standalone picture book for children that will make you see things from a different perspective.

My Take
This is very clever! Fleischman and Hawkes sucker you right in with the promise of the circus coming to town…and then tease with that sly comment about the performers perhaps being here already, as they slide you into the old city neighborhood of skateboarders, window washers, guys doing construction, deliverymen, cooks…all the everyday people in the neighborhood.

Admittedly Fleischman/Hawkes have taken some liberties with those shadow thrust up against the walls, but I gotta give ‘em credit for their imaginations. Even with those minor tweaks.

It’s kind of a Where’s Waldo for you and the kids to find the shadows and interpret them. Encourage the kids to see the differences AND the similarities. Stimulate those imaginations.

There are no words, other than shop signs, the marquee announcing the circus, and the posters the old man is pasting up. Instead, it’s a visual feast to tease the mind.

The Story
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Step right up and witness an astounding assemblage of tightrope walkers, strong men, sword swallowers, and clowns.

The Garibaldi Circus is coming soon — but for those with clear eyes, the performers may already be in the ring. So get ready to sharpen your vision, and look very closely.

A show like you’ve never seen is about to begin!

The Cover and Title
I’ve always loved the transformative magic of shadow puppets, and this cover is a perfect example with the gigantic shadow of a top-hatted ringmaster shouting into his megaphone projected on to that huge yellow and orange brick wall…all coming from a little old man with a white mustache, a long-billed baseball cap, overalls, and a red check shirt, holding a rolled-up poster in his hand. Right next to a sidewalk cart piled with posters. With shocking indifference, three pigeons are tapping away at the pavement. The title and illustrators' names are all at the bottom in a pale yellow against the deep brown-gray of the roadway.

The title is a totally different way of looking at the life around you, the Sidewalk Circus that performs in every town, city, and neighborhood.

[Paige Arcuri · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. Awards: ALA Notable Children's Books (2005)

2. Grades: Kindergarten- 3rd Grade

3. Summary: A young girl is waiting at a bus stop when she notices a poster advertising an upcoming circus. As she looks around town, her imagination allows her to see the shadows of ordinary, working people as circus acts. The bus pulls up, ending her visit to the circus, but a brand-new performance is just about to start for those getting off the bus.

4. Review: This clever, wordless picture book suggests the importance of looking closely at everyday life. It emphasizes the joy imagination can bring to a person and forces you to look at situations from a different perspective. However, when reading the book with younger children, I think adult input is key in order for them to find and understand the meaning of the shadows.

5. Use:
a) This book can be used as a tool to teach children about foreshadowing. As they read the book, they can predict what act they may see next.
b) You can use this book as a tool to practice writing. In small groups show the students the book, but do not narrate a story. Then have them write down their own story line and share it with the other students in the group.

[Jenna]

"Sidewalk Circus" has not won any awards.

This book would be best suited for students in K-1.

This story is more of a sequence of related images than a true story, as the reader "sits" with a young girl as she observes various everyday people doing everyday things but sees fantastic things happening. Though the people around her are working or simply walking by, the girl sees circus performances in their shadows.

The images in this story are wonderfully illustrated and a lot of fun, though I think it would be harder to do practice reading lessons with it since there is no linear story to follow.

Using this book, I would have my students do text-to-self connections and look for exciting things in their everyday lives. I also love the idea of having them do self portraits and then have their shadows be a person from the circus or even what they want to be when they grow up or something along those lines.

[Salma]

The picture book by Sidewalk Circus was a really fun read. I would say this is one of my favorite wordless picture books because of how it made the young girl imagine a circus happening with everyday life shadows. I enjoyed how she seen signs that made her believe that someone was swallowing a sword or that a girl was juggling pancakes, but it was just a dentist and a cook doing there jobs. I think the author did a good job at showing the emotions on the little girls face every every new "act" she seen throughout the book. The author also leaves you with a cliff hanger when the little boy comes into the pictures and thinks that the circus is about tot start as well. It makes you wonder how they could have not noticed that everything that was happening around them was just normal people either falling or doing their job. I wonder what would have happened in the pictures with the little boy if the book had gone on.

[Ali Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is wordless book. This book was about a little girl who sat on the sidewalk watching the people of the town. All the people on the street had different jobs but they were all jobs that reminded her of acts that went on in a circus. She sat there and watched the baker juggle the treats she was making and there was a man carrying something on his back and he looked like one of the "strong men" that you would typically see in the circus. Wordless picture books are very interesting because you are able to look at the pictures and interpret them and take them how you want. It is really interesting to see how children look at pictures and interpret them. This book would be a fun book to read in a class.

[Zowie Ponichtera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sidewalk Circus is full of bright colors and gives a sort of "where's waldo" effect when reading it. It looked like this book was created using oil paints and does not use intense amount of detail. This book truly does not require words it is just a fun light-hearted book about the city and how the every day man and woman and surprise you with their abilities. Children would get a kick out of viewing it and looking for all the hidden figures.
I will say I do not feel this book is very educational, it doesn't tell any real story. It mostly just shows pictures in a similar theme with fun shadows.

[Alexis Medrano · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the start of looking at the book, I understood that it was showing how there was gonna be circus in town "coming soon,". But then, I realized how the little girl was so excited for the new circus she would always be checking on the sidewalk to see when it comes, but then she would realize that the townspeople were already like circus people in their day to day jobs. I liked how the theme in the book was to just open your eyes and look at the world of people around you. In terms of the book itself, I liked the use of color and the focal point on the little girl as the main character, and how on some pages things around her would be black and white but she would be in full color.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set on a busy city street, a young girl sees the world around her with a very active imagination. She soon realizes that everything around her is part of a grand circus. This picture book is wordless, but it does show signs that are hanging up around the city. Reading the signs is a must as it brings a new level of comedy and imagination to each page.

As a teacher, this book is a strong example to use for making predictions and also for inferring what the girl is thinking. You could also use it in a writing center to model gathering ideas to write about. Students would have a wonderful time writing about pages of this story from the perspective of the characters in the city.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was cool. When the story first started out it just seems like it is a girl who is excited for the circus to be coming but later on you see that so much more ends up happening. I like all of the little details that happen aeound various areas of the page and how depending on what stands out it would change your opinion/ viewpoint of what’s going on. I like that it is wordless because it gives more possibilities. I also like the bright colors that were used. Everything looks very appealing to the eyes and there’s a good amount of details to help tell the story.

[Isabel Rosales]

This book is about a girl who sees a sign for a circus but fails to notice the “coming soon” sign. We are now following the girl named Samantha where she sees many people in their ordinary everyday lives just doing their job, thinking they are part of the circus such as a construction worker/ painter balancing himself on a beam, a chef flipping food, skateboarders, and a man carrying something on his back. The book is very colorful, the images are somewhat realistic. The point of view is through the narrators perspective, seeing Samantha and all the acts.

[Scarlett Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was great. The illustrations weren't my favorite but i loved the story. The little girl is watching as a man is saying "circus coming soon" but everywhere she looks she sees the different circus "performers" the chef is a juggler, the boy carrying flour is a weight lifter and the girl at the dentist is a sword swallower each person around the town represented a different performer so she didn't even need to see the circus it was right there in front of her.

[Rochelle Autler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this wordless picture book was very creative. I like how the illustrator decided to keep certain parts of the images in more of a darker tone and make some parts stand out with the use of brighter colors. For instance, the little girl stood out among all the people. I could tell the story just by looking at the pictures and I wasn't confused. I like how it was depicted that everyday jobs or activities could be seen as circus-like.

[Annie J. Hochheiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Waiting for the bus isn't too bad when you can watch a circus come to life before your eyes! Paul Fleischman's Sidewalk Circus invites readers to change their perspective of everyday happenings in the city. Is that a chef flipping pancakes or a juggler? Window washers or trapeze artists? Colorful artwork accompanies an imaginative, wordless story that encourages readers to take a second glance at seemingly ordinary streets.

[Bridget Walswick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives students the option to tell their own story of what the pictures depict. it helps them to use their imagination and storytelling skills. The pictures are colorful and well-detailed. Your eyes and imagination can allow you to see things that are not really there, most of the time shadows are not what you see them be. Each child would tell a different version of this story and that is what makes it so good.

[Madison LibraryBookFamily · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a marquee rolls announcing the coming circus acts a young girl sees them all take place in the every day actions surrounding her. She sees a strong man delivering meat to the butcher, two trapeze artists washing windows, a lion tamer walking his dog, and more. Look closely to see how the shadows represent various carnival acts as the posters and marquee announce them to the city.

[Jordyn Tinder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the illustrations in this wordless picture book. I loved the cover pages because it was illustrated very well and went along with the story line of the book. I loved the message of following your dreams in this book and thought it would be important to enforce on my future students.

[Elise Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book showed a little girl with a big imagination. It showed her viewing everyday things as something magical. The illustrations were very colorful and had many different forms. Each page had something different, whether it be the layout of the image itself or the specific things that were shown in color.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wordless book, although there are signs and banners that enhance the storytelling. Very cool way to show how fun the world around us can be when we pay attention and use our imagination. I love books where you need to pay close attention to the illustrations, in this book it is all about the shadows.

[Mackenzie Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

The wordless book, Sidewalk Circus, by Paul Fleischman and Kevin Hawkes demonstrate that imagination can create a new story. The book shows a little girl that took everyday jobs, items or workers and saw them as if they were circus performers with her imagination. The books is a great way to show and allow children to use their imagination.

[McCall DiLorenzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an entertaining book! Sidewalk Circus shows how magical kids' imaginations are. This book is colorful and flows nicely from picture to picture. It gives the opportunity for students to create their own story of the circus acts and what will happen after the pictures end.

[JULIANA · Rating 4 out of 5]

de todos os 4 que li hoje, esse certamente é meu favorito. achei que contaria sobre as aventuras dentro de um circo, mas expressa a inocência das crianças em ver o circo se desenrolar em coisas cotidianas. que lindo! 💝

[Jeimy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book that reminds us that there is magic and wonder in our everyday lives.

[Katie Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wordless picture book is great for intuitive readers! It allows the child to think critically and predict the story line

[Eliot Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

As she waits for the bus, a child uses her imagination to transform the everyday occurrences happening around her into a wild circus performance in this colorful and detailed wordless picture book.