The Toy Circus

Wahl, Jan

ISBN 10: 0152006095 ISBN 13: 9780152006099

Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books, 1986

Synopsis

Each evening, the ordinary red box in a little boy's room is magically transformed into a circus tent, the toys become the performers, and the dreaming child himself takes on the role of ringmaster

About this title

From School Library Journal:

PreS While a small boy sleeps, the toy-box in his bedroom opens, releasing a troup of circus performers who cavort to the calliope's wheeze. The lumbering bareback riders, dancing bears, and clowns are as lumpish as the on-again, off-again rhyming of the text that is, by turns, forced, repetitive, or just plain awkward. ``Plumed ponies prance,/ plump ladies dance'' will trip more than one tongue. The illustrations are equally unfortunate: harsh lighting, unpalatable colors, and a superficial brand of surrealism that catapults objects through the borders of the pages are not the worst of it. The faces of the performers waver between an insistent hilarity and a simpering smirk, lending the whole effort an unpleasant aura. When the toys return to their box at night's end, it is a relief to see the peaceful room and the child at rest once more. Kristi Thomas Beavin, Arlington County Library, Va.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harcourt Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1986
• ISBN 10: 0152006095
• ISBN 13: 9780152006099
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Bowers Tim