Emeline at the Circus [Hardcover]

Marjorie Priceman (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

From Caldecott Honor artist and author of the best-selling How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World comes a hilarious picture book romp about the things you can learn and the fun you can have at the circus. When Emeline's teacher, Miss Splinter, takes the second grade on a field trip to the circus, she's careful to make sure it's a learning experience. While she reads -- the text of the book consists of her "lessons" -- the pictures show Emeline getting mixed up in the performances in the circus ring.  She becomes a lion tamer, an acrobat, a trapeze artist, and more, before Miss Splinter realizes what's going on. Marjorie Priceman's vibrant, saturated paintings make this dazzling sight gag a feast for the eye.  Children will applaud Emeline, laugh out loud at Miss Splinter, and painlessly soak up a few facts about animals, acrobats, and circuses along the way.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Second-grade teacher Ms. Splinter takes going to the circus very seriously. After all, there is important circus-related information that she must communicate to her class. And that means no fidgeting. Ms. Splinter's mini-dissertations on various circus animals and performers make up the text of this lively picture book: "According to the dictionary, clown comes from the Old Norse word klonne, meaning 'clumsy fellow.' Now, sit still, class, hands on laps. Let's leave the clowning to the clowns." What Ms. Splinter doesn't know (but readers do know from the pictures), is that young Emeline slips away from the class to feed peanuts to the elephant, is swooped up by the elephant's trunk, is plunked down in front of a klonne, and becomes part of the circus herself! Caldecott Honor winner Marjorie Priceman's breathtakingly gorgeous, color-soaked illustrations tell their own story as Emeline swings from a tightrope, nearly falls into a hippo's mouth, is saved by a strongman, faces off with a tiger, and kisses a monkey. Only when Emeline starts performing on the flying trapeze does Ms. Splinter catch on. "What an expert aerialist!" she cries. "What a brave little..." "EMELINE!?!" Needless to say, kids will relish the fact that Ms. Splinter is left in the dark as Emeline has her day in the sun. (Click to see a sample spread. Copyright 1999 by Marjorie Priceman. Reproduced with permission of Alfred A. Knopf.) (Ages 5 and older, best for reading aloud) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly

Step right up to one of Priceman's (Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin; Dancin' in the Kitchen) most intriguing picture books. Ms. Splinter leads her second-grade class on a field trip to the circus for what she calls a "great learning experience." Ms. Splinter might as well be Ms. Stickler, for all the rules she imposes: "Sit up straight. No shouting. No fidgeting. No standing on the seats. No wandering off." Fortunately, Emeline can't resist breaking the rules, and wanders off to buy a bag of peanuts, which tempts an elephant to lift her and her snack right into the center ring. While Ms. Splinter, her nose buried in books, recites facts about the various animals and the history of circus acts, Emeline dons a clown outfit, rides horseback and is saved by the strongman from the clutches of a hippo. When Emeline performs a "splendid stunt" on the trapeze, she finally catches the eye of her stunned teacher just before returning safely to her seat. Kids will love the playful depiction of the two parallel experiences. Unwittingly, Ms. Splinter recites each of her dreary lessons in response to one of Emeline's wild adventures in the ring (though the teacher's running commentary isn't really so dreary; it's chock-full of interesting tidbits and some dry humor). Priceman's vivacious ink-and-watercolor paintings convey all the kinetic excitement of the Big Top as viewed from both in the ring and in the standsAthe second graders, oblivious to their teacher, react to Emeline's antics with appropriate facial expressions in oval-shaped vignettes. Each of Priceman's colorful scenes of controlled chaosAas animals and performers in all manner of glitzy costume tumble, prance and parade aboutA attests to why this is called the greatest show on earth. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers; 1st edition (April 20, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679876855
• ISBN-13: 978-0679876854
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 0.4 x 10.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,118,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marjorie Price meets Raoul Dufy, February 4, 2000

By 

Inger K. Wegener "Dragons & Stones Art Press" (NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Emeline at the Circus (Hardcover)

The artwork is exceptional. Elephants, giraffes, tigers, clowns and of course Emeline move through the pages with unequaled grace and cheerfulness. What appears to be a blotch of primary colours at first glance is almost magically transformed into subtle and tender characters who might justly be called the sophisticated french painter Raoul Dufys great-grand-children. Two-year-old readers already take delight in following the hidden plot which the adult reader is likely to miss at first reading. A wonderful surprise and sweet lesson for the rereading parent. However, dont overwhelm little ones with the text. Miss Splinters commentary is more likely to find an interested and laughing audience in 5-7 year-old children.

3.0 out of 5 stars Factual, but not fun, June 2, 2008

By 

Stanley Cup "Hockey Mom" (Holly Springs, NC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Emeline at the Circus (Paperback)

I got this book for my 7 year old son from our local library because the title sounded like fun and because it received the "Best Illustrated Children's Book" award from the NY Times Book review.

5 stars for: the illustrations in this book are very vibrant and colorful. Some people may find them to be a bit "busy", but I think that it plays to the concept that a circus is a "busy" place with a lot of different things going on all at one time. The pictures capture the essence of a circus beautifully.

3 stars for: the story in general. While the test is quite factual, it does not really keep the attention of a young reader who was just looking for a fun story about a circus and nothing else. The premise of the story is that a teacher takes her class to the circus and she reads facts from a book about whatever action is taking place at that point in time. For example, when the horse comes out, she reads, "Observe the graceful horse. Latin name, Equus. A hoofed, herbivorous mammal. Relative of the zebra and donkey. Horses travel in herds." And so it goes throughout the book. If you are looking to learn a lot of factual things about animals and other circus attractions, then this is the book for you. If you are just looking for a fun story, it is not. Because the book contains so much factual information, you spend a lot of time explaining what certain words means to a younger reader. Words like combustion, prehensile, mimosa trees, herbivorous, nocturnal, and deltoids are just a few things that needed to be explained to my son. About 3/4 way through the book, he asked if we could stop reading it and he went and got another book to read. It just did not keep his interest.

Spoiler alert: I went back and finished reading the book myself and then I had to go back and look at the illustrations again. As it turns out, little Emeline has wanderd away from her class and she is in every spread of the book taking part in all the activities that are going on at the circus. It is a very cute idea, however, if you are not aware that this is the premise of the book on the first reading, you may not notice it until the end of the book (hence the re-read). Once you are aware of this, your child might enjoy looking fer her throughout the book, and the story will make more sense when you get to the ending.

I would recommend getting this book from the library before you invest in your own copy to make sure that they enjoy the story filled mostly with facts, but illustrated exquisitely.

4.0 out of 5 stars Frenetic Illustrations, March 3, 2005

By 

K. Volz (Rolla, MO USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Emeline at the Circus (Paperback)

I found the quality of the illustrations very uneven. It can be difficult to follow Emeline from page to page, which is the comic premise. I enjoyed the book and recommend it, but counsel modest expectations on the illustration. Some are fabulous. All are delightfully bright and intense.