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Parents' Guide to

The Circus Ship

By Darienne Stewart, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 5+

Odd shipwreck tale comes on a little strong.

Book Chris Van Dusen Animals 2009
The Circus Ship Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 3+

Based on 10 parent reviews

John O.
John O. Parent of 5 and 10-year-old
March 13, 2021
age 2+

Great book for kids who like animals

We bought this for our five year old, and while he enjoys it, our 2 year absolutely loves it. He loves to point out and name the animals (if only we knew the right name for the horned deer in the menagerie). It’s so well written and illustrated that the adults don’t mind reading it 1-2 times a day over the weeks we’ve owned it. Even our 10 year old will pay attention while we read it. I highly recommend this book. It’s one of the best we’ve found recently.
Melissa T.
Melissa T. Parent
March 20, 2019
age 4+

Not violent at all!

My kids love Chris Van Dusen books and I love reading them aloud. They have a great rhythm to them. I disagree with the review calling this book too violent. The beginning of the books does not reference drowning at all. No, the animals are not saved by the circus owner, but they swim to shore. Also the child being in a fire is obviously illustrated to reference a ring of fire like you'd see the tigers jump through at the circus. My kids were not scared at all by this book. The message of the book is seeing the good in the animals and how the townsfolk go on to protect them.
See all 10 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Illustrator and author Chris Van Dusen loosely bases his story on a 1836 incident in which a boat carrying a circus went down in flames off the coast of Maine. In Van Dusen’s tale, the ship founders in a storm. Mr. Paine, the circus owner, saves himself and leaves behind his animals, who desperately swim to an island in Maine. The villagers at first are annoyed by the strange arrivals. But once a tiger -- reverting to his training -- leaps into a burning building to save a girl, the people befriend the animals. When Mr. Paine comes charging back to retrieve his animals, the villagers vow to keep him from taking any of them.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (10 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

There’s no shortage of bad guys in children’s stories, of course, but Mr. Paine is a little over the top in a story that feels contrived. Young kids -- for whom, typically, a circus is a source of delight rather than disgust -- may very well be taken aback by the sheer awfulness of this frightening grown-up bully. He hurls himself about the story, red-faced and corpulent, overwhelming the lighthearted touches. The rhyming text moves along easily enough, but the big twists in the plot -- the heroic tiger, and the sudden return of Mr. Paine -- are dispatched in a rush.
The idea of these strange animals stumbling ashore in 19th-century Maine is intrinsically fun, and Van Dusen offers some delightful scenes. One of the best moments is a simple hidden pictures-style two-page spread in which the 15 circus animals are disguised around the town: a camel as a haystack, an ostrich as a tree, and so on. Mr. Paine scratches his head in frustration, but kids will delight in finding each animal.

So brightly colored they veer toward gaudy, the best illustrations invite kids to explore the ways the circus animals have become part of village life.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about right and wrong. What should Mr. Paine have done when the ship sank? Why were his actions wrong? What about the captain?

  • The animals belonged to Mr. Paine. Were the villagers right to keep him from collecting what belonged to him? Why or why not?

  • The end notes describe a much sadder true story that Circus Ship is based on. Older kids and parents can talk about what parts of the story are different. What parts are the same?

Book Details

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