Sidewalk Circus

Sidewalk Circus uses no dialogue just pictures. I found it very clever to deliver the story without dialogue, encouraging children to see the adventure in life around them rather than pay to have entertainment brought to them. In a culture where videogames must be bought (or at least have coins inserted), the idea that entertainment can be found by only adjusting your viewpoint is an excellent one for young children.

On each bright, primary-colored page, an unnamed child observes adventures and entertainments so resembling circus acts that she covers her eyes at the exciting parts and claps her hands at the skill. The “goings on” of daily life so resemble a circus that she mistakes the images for circus acts.

This book had no words, except for those on the posters. Paul Fleischman shows readers that we can find magic or fun in our ordinary lives, like the city scape in Sidewalk Circus. This is helpful to teach children to be aware of the world around them, especially in a technology driven age. I would potentially use this as an introduction to community, or neighborhoods... I definitely want my students to realize what their environments have to offer.

I really liked this book for a number of reasons, but mostly because of the message that came across as I was reading it. With the illustrator's use of bright, colorful, detailed pictures/paintings, readers are able to connect or relate the people, places and things to what they know to take place in the circus. The author and illustrator work well together to show children how simple it is for them to be a part of something by using or taking advantage of the simple people, places and things they have right in their neighborhood. Both the author and illustrator incorporate comparisons to things children may see in a circus, which not only are attractive to the eye, but this allows children to feel like they can relate to the main show more character of the book. For example, one page in the book shows a chef flipping pancakes. This can easily be compared to that of a juggling act in the circus. Another page shows a construction worker walking across a very high building, as he holds two large buckets. This can be compared to a trapeze act in the circus. Overall, this book allows children to make personal connections to things they see in everyday life, after looking at the pictures used throughout the book. Being able to make connections to a text is super important and this book does a great job of granting students that opportunity. show less

Oh too cute. I'm a fan of books that encourage readers to look at the world from a fresh perspective, whether they're toddlers' metafiction or adults' science fiction or anything in between. This comes at it from a direction I've never seen before. How wonderful to be able to see the extraordinary in the everyday, as the girl in this story does.

Do note that this resembles a wordless book because there's no narration or dialogue. But the words on the signs are very helpful and I would not share this without reading them.

"Sidewalk Circus" features a young viewer sitting on a sidewalk bench watching all of the work going on in her city. Most people do not see construction workers and food vendors and envision a circus act. When this young girl looks at the leader of the construction crew holding a blue print, she sees a ring leader. In the shadows, the blue print becomes a mega phone and his hat becomes a huge circus top hat. Using no words, a complete circus act is portrayed. This is my favorite book of the entire semester. It is amazing how people can view so many things differently. Imagination plays a major role in the theme. In the shadows we are able to see flame catchers, the strongest man alive, tight rope walkers, and a juggler.

Sidewalk Circus is a great wordless picture book that I enjoyed a lot. The illustrations were of course one of the reasons I enjoyed the book. They really depicted the city streets in a vibrant way. There is also great use of juxtaposition in the pictures. For example, on one of the pages the circus man is putting up a poster of a man juggling. Meanwhile in the window next door, a woman is inside juggling pancakes on the stove. The characters were also well depicted. I could imagine seeing every one of them walking down the streets of Baltimore City in the 1950's. The books main idea was imaginative thinking. It made the reader think about how life is really just an everyday circus.

In this wordless picture book, a young girl is waiting for her bus when she sees a poster for a circus and her wait then transforms into her watching a show. A shadow of a delivery boy looks like a strongman, a guy flipping pancakes looks like an amazing juggling act, two boys on skateboards become clowns, and so forth until the girl's bus arrives. As the girl leaves, she is replaced by a young boy who's wide eyes tell us that he is in for a show also.

I thought that this book was very clever. I love that this book encourages children to look into their own world and use their imagination. The illustrations were amazing.

For the classroom, I would have students come outside and find a place to sit down (probably on the playground or on show more the sidewalk). I would have them make a picture of what they see, using their imaginations. show less