Buy New

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
or
Amazon Prime Free Trial required. Sign up when you check out. Learn More
Buy Used
Used - Good See details
$5.38 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
If I Ran the Circus (Classic Seuss)
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

If I Ran the Circus (Classic Seuss) [Hardcover]

Dr. Seuss (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)

List Price: $14.95
Price: $9.47 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $5.48 (37%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it delivered Monday, January 30? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Book Description

6 and up1 and upClassic Seuss
Young Morris McGurk lets his imagination run wild with his circus McGurkus. "Fun for the entire family."--Children's Book Center.  

Frequently Bought Together

If I Ran the Circus (Classic Seuss) + If I Ran the Zoo (Classic Seuss) + Dr Seuss's Sleep Book
Price For All Three: $28.05

Show availability and shipping details

Buy the selected items together
  • In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • If I Ran the Zoo (Classic Seuss) $9.47

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • Dr Seuss's Sleep Book $9.11

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details



Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If I Ran the Circus is a grand rhyming Seussian hymn to every child's grandest and wildest plans. Behind Mr. Sneelock's ramshackle store, there's an empty lot. Little Morris McGurk is convinced that if he could just clear out the rusty cans, the dead tree, and the old cars, he would have no further obstacles to using the lot for the amazing, the world-beating, Circus McGurkus. The more elaborate Morris's dreams about the circus become, the more they depend on sleepy-looking, innocent Mr. Sneelock, who stands outside his ramshackle store sucking on a pipe, oblivious to the fate that awaits him in the depths of Morris's imagination. He doesn't yet know that he'll have to dispense 500 gallons of lemonade, be lassoed by a Wily Walloo, wrestle a Grizzly-Ghastly, and ski down a slope dotted with giant cacti. But if his performance is up to McGurkian expectations, then "why, ladies and gentlemen, youngsters and oldsters, your heads will quite likely spin right off your shouldsters!" Welcome to the big top. (Ages 4 to 8) --Richard Farr

From the Inside Flap

Illus. in color. Young Morris McGurk lets his imagination run wild with his circus McGurkus. "Fun for the entire family."--Children's Book Center.  

Product Details

  • Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  • Hardcover: 64 pages
  • Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers; 1St Edition edition (October 12, 1956)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 039480080X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0394800806
  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 0.5 x 11.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"A person's a person, no matter how small," Theodor Seuss Geisel, a.k.a. Dr. Seuss, would say. "Children want the same things we want. To laugh, to be challenged, to be entertained and delighted."

Brilliant, playful, and always respectful of children, Dr. Seuss charmed his way into the consciousness of four generations of youngsters and parents. In the process, he helped millions of kids learn to read.

Dr. Seuss was born Theodor Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904. After graduating from Dartmouth College in 1925, he went to Oxford University, intending to acquire a doctorate in literature. At Oxford, Geisel met Helen Palmer, whom he wed in 1927. Upon his return to America later that year, Geisel published cartoons and humorous articles for Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at that time. His cartoons also appeared in major magazines such as Life, Vanity Fair, and Liberty. Geisel gained national exposure when he won an advertising contract for an insecticide called Flit. He coined the phrase, "Quick, Henry, the Flit!" which became a popular expression.

Geisel published his first children's book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, in 1937, after 27 publishers rejected it.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1984, an Academy Award, three Emmy Awards, three Grammy Awards, and three Caldecott Honors, Geisel wrote and illustrated 44 books. While Theodor Geisel died on September 24, 1991, Dr. Seuss lives on, inspiring generations of children of all ages to explore the joys of reading.

 

Customer Reviews

25 Reviews
5 star:
 (24)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Circus fun from the mind of Seuss, January 29, 2001
This review is from: If I Ran the Circus (Classic Seuss) (Hardcover)
"If I Ran the Circus" is classic Dr. Seuss: delightful rhymes, wacky nonsense words, and bizarre creatures drawn in a playful artistic style. And, as in the best of Seuss' books, all these elements come together to celebrate the power of the imagination. The entire book takes place in the mind of young Morris McGurk, who imagines creating an extravagant circus in the vacant lot behind Sneelock's Store.

And what a circus he imagines! As the scenario unfolds, we are treated to many marvelous sights: a 500-gallon lemonade dispenser, a Drum-Tummied Snumm, a fluff-muffled Truffle, a Spotted Atrocious, a trapeze troupe, and much, much more. Dr. Seuss' distinctive rhyming style is on full display throughout. Typical lines: "Then my Tournament Knights! Noble apes without fears! / Sir Hector! Sir Vector! Sir Bopps! and Sir Beers!"

Throughout the book, young McGurk imagines store owner Sneelock performing in the imaginary circus. This gives the book a subtle touch of gentle subversiveness, since Sneelock is an adult, and thus an authority figure. But the humor is never mean, and in fact Sneelock appears both courageous and talented in the many wild scenarios spun in the boy's head. All things considered, "If I Ran the Circus" is a delight, and another triumph for Dr. Seuss.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Splendid book! Pull up a ringside seat., August 29, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: If I Ran the Circus (Classic Seuss) (Hardcover)
Gasp at the scale. Wince at the rhymes. Be amazed at the exploits of Old Sneelock. This book is classic Seuss and deserves to be read much more widely. I recommend it unreservedly.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps the most perfect Seuss!, June 20, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: If I Ran the Circus (Classic Seuss) (Hardcover)
If I Ran the Circus is a delightful cross between the tongue-twisting Fox in Sox and the classic Cat in the Hat. I read it to my children until they begged me to stop. Then I read it to my wife. It demands to be read outloud with the greatest of enthusiasm, almost child-like glee, drawing out the unique word combinations and stunning metre and rhyme. Fabuluous.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews











Only search this product's reviews



Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
In all the whole town, the most wonderful spot Read the first page
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
The Circus
New!
Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:


What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(7)
(2)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums





Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject