Overview

When the circus comes to Willow Grove, Benny and Sam are in for more excitement than they can shake a stick at: elephants and acrobats, candied apples and a calliope, even a snake enchantress. They can't think of anything better than helping the circus men set up for the grand event - until the Big Top boss gives them two tickets for the show! But then Sam's ticket disappears, and it's up to Benny to save the best day ever.

A tribute to the great occasions and small gestures that children will remember for a lifetime, this boisterous tale about fun and friendship is enlivened by David Gordon's jubilant illustrations. To the Big Top is a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

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Reviews

Joyful illustrations...will give children, especially those who have never experienced a circus parade of big-top performance, a good idea of what it was like back then. --Booklist As Esbaum moves the duo from backstage to the choice seats in the Big Top, she handily captures the flavor of pre-electricity days, especially in her use of vintage vernacular (Benny remarks at one auspicious moment, I was so bumfuzzled, I couldn't unwind my tongue ) . Gordon's . . . big scenes--the unloading of the circus train, the big parade down Main Street--bustle with a sense of sweep and head pleasure. -- Starred, Publishers Weekly Gordon...lights up the event, bringing prime elements of the story forward, dressed in electric color, and painting the background in a haze; the illustrations' almost-can-taste-it, dreamlike quality takes readers to Back Then, when midway and sideshow were the real deal. --Kirkus Reviews <br> Gordon's vibrant illustrations depict the historical element while also conveying the dynamic relationship between the two friends. An inviting slice of Americana. --School Library Journal

Joyful illustrations...will give children, especially those who have never experienced a circus parade of big-top performance, a good idea of what it was like back then. --Booklist As Esbaum moves the duo from backstage to the choice seats in the Big Top, she handily captures the flavor of pre-electricity days, especially in her use of vintage vernacular (Benny remarks at one auspicious moment, I was so bumfuzzled, I couldn't unwind my tongue ) . Gordon's . . . big scenes--the unloading of the circus train, the big parade down Main Street--bustle with a sense of sweep and head pleasure. -- Starred, Publishers Weekly Gordon...lights up the event, bringing prime elements of the story forward, dressed in electric color, and painting the background in a haze; the illustrations' almost-can-taste-it, dreamlike quality takes readers to Back Then, when midway and sideshow were the real deal. --Kirkus Reviews <br> Gordon's vibrant illustrations depict the historical element while

Joyful illustrations...will give children, especially those who have never experienced a circus parade of big-top performance, a good idea of what it was like back then. &#8212;Booklist &nbsp; As Esbaum moves the duo from backstage to the choice seats in the Big Top, she handily captures the flavor of pre-electricity days, especially in her use of vintage vernacular (Benny remarks at one auspicious moment, I was so bumfuzzled, I couldn't unwind my tongue ) . Gordon's . . . big scenes--the unloading of the circus train, the big parade down Main Street--bustle with a sense of sweep and head pleasure. &#8212; Starred, Publishers Weekly &nbsp; Gordon...lights up the event, bringing prime elements of the story forward, dressed in electric color, and painting the background in a haze; the illustrations' almost-can-taste-it, dreamlike quality takes readers to Back Then, when midway and sideshow were the real deal. &#8212;Kirkus Reviews <br>&#8220;Gordon&#8217;s vibrant illustratio

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