Customer Reviews

Circus Train

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Circus Train, by Joseph A. Smith, is a delightful book about a young boy, Timothy, who recently moved to the country and found himself without any friends. A train soon appeared on a nearby track which was no longer in service. Taking the wrong track, it was the circus train that had come to a complete stop because the bridge had long been collapsed. Hearing the commotion, Timothy and his dog felt the need to investigate.

The engineer, worried because he could not put the train in reverse, was perplexed by his dilemma. He was stuck. He could not go in any direction. Timothy arrived on the scene and creatively solved the problem allowing the circus train to arrive on time at the fairgrounds in Yonderville.

The book gives children an opportunity to try their hand at problem-solving. What are some of the ways they could resolve this crisis? Allowing children to use their imagination and try their hand at predicting the outcome, they soon come to realize the difference between fact and fantasy. The story concludes with yet another opportunity to predict the outcome!

The beautiful watercolor illustrations give one a sense of nostalgia and excitement for those old days of the circus train. The vibrant use of color brings the pictures to life. It provides children of today a glimpse of one aspect of the "good ole days of years gone by."

We read every children's book on the subject of trains that we can get our hands on, to satisfy the obsession of my 4 year-old. This is the biggest disappointment yet. The illustrations are gorgeous (hence 2 star rating rather than 1 star), but there is just too much fantasy for our taste. The blend of fantasy with reality just doesn't flow. The boy uses his bubble blowing solution and has the elephant's blow up the circus train like giant balloons. As explained in the summary (above) the human cannonball acts as the engine for this now-floating circus and tows the train up and over the broken down train bridge and on to the circus. The next shot is the boy at this same circus, with his parents. In the end the clowns reappear for the lonely boy to play baseball with, along with some real children. This is so fantastical in nature it confused me and my son, making me wonder if all or part of this escapade was a figment of the lonely boy's imagination. I guess we prefer more realistic books on trains, we save the fantasy for other subjects. My conclusion was that the boy imagined the part about helping the circus train to ease his boredom and loneliness, and later did really attend the real circus with his parents. I also assume he is again entering the fantasy world to play a baseball game with imagined clowns and imagined children.

Beautiful illustrations and a cute beginning, but then something looses flow about halfway through. It takes a little extra explaing from the reader because the text isn't there. I'm not sure what happened the build up was good. None the less it's trains, animals, circus it's hard to go too wrong.

Anyone who likes fantasy, circuses or trains should love this book.

The story line is a little bumpy, but the gorgeous illustrations carry it through. A child who moved into Yonderville worried about where he would find friends. Then the circus arrived in town. Well, not actually in town. It arrived across a field from the boy's house, and had come to a dead end. The engineer had taken the wrong track, and was forced to stop by a collapsed bridge. The train could not make it into town, across the river, to set up the show.

The boy used his imagination. If you appreciate imagination and good illustrations, the rest of the story and it's fold-out watercolor will take your breath away. Alyssa A. Lappen