Call number
E S
Collection
Genres
Publication
Random House Books for Young Readers (1956), Edition: First Edition, 72 pages
Description
A young boy imagines the fantastic animals and incredible acts he will have for his greatest of all circuses.
Subjects
User reviews
LibraryThing member bspentecost
This book is about a little boy name Morris McGurk. He wants to start a circus in the best vacant lot. This lot belongs to Mr. Sneelock and is behind Mr. Sneelock's store. The circus shall be called The Circus McGurkus and will have the world's greatest show. There will be creatures from all over
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with unbelievable talents. Mr. Sneelock may not know but he will be a hero when he finds the circus behind his store. I loved this book it was fun and creative. This book would be a good book for 2nd and 3rd graders. It is on their level and can easily keep their attention as they imagine this wonderful circus. Show Less
LibraryThing member srssrs
Dr. Seuss books can often be repetitive. However, "If I Ran the Circus," seemed different for a few reasons. First, I think it has great potential in the classroom. Students could imagine what they would want to run, if not a circus and develop a nonsensical plan like Morris McGurk of their own.
Dr. Seuss's theme my be subtle, but he does mention conservation, in regards to cleaning up the unused cluttered lot and putting it to good use. In another subtle way he is emphasizing being a good neighbor and helping out the community by cleaning up. The language in this book really enhances the illustrations. Text and graphics need to be together. The pictures would not make sense without it. This would be fun as a read aloud and also has a lot of teachable moments in it is as well.
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Next, I liked how Dr. Seuss used language in this book. Dr. Seuss plays with words and patterns; the deeper he gets into the story, the grander the plan becomes, the more twisted the language becomes. This book would be a fun way to do a word study. For example, "Colossal, stupendous, astounding, fantastic, terrific, and tremendous" are all synonyms and "Odd jobs" is an idiom. Grammar is introduced with the juggler. I also enjoyed his over application of language components in this case the suffix -ster, with the words youngsters and oldsters. I could even see students playing Dr. Seuss Scrabble with this book! Dr. Seuss's theme my be subtle, but he does mention conservation, in regards to cleaning up the unused cluttered lot and putting it to good use. In another subtle way he is emphasizing being a good neighbor and helping out the community by cleaning up. The language in this book really enhances the illustrations. Text and graphics need to be together. The pictures would not make sense without it. This would be fun as a read aloud and also has a lot of teachable moments in it is as well.
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LibraryThing member ShondaNewsome
Summary:
This is a great book about young Morris McGurk who lets his imagination run wild in creating an extravagant circus McGurkus that he created using an empty parking lot behind Mr. Sneelock's ramshackle store. This book is filled with lots of rhyming words, wacky creatures that interest young
Personal Relations:
I can relate to this book because when I was a child, I always had crazy imaginations and always telling my parents what I want to be when i grow up and things I wanted to do as a child.
Classroom Extension:
1. Student will get into groups and create and an imaginary story.
2. Groups will draw pictures and present their story to their classmates.
This is a great book about young Morris McGurk who lets his imagination run wild in creating an extravagant circus McGurkus that he created using an empty parking lot behind Mr. Sneelock's ramshackle store. This book is filled with lots of rhyming words, wacky creatures that interest young
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children.Personal Relations:
I can relate to this book because when I was a child, I always had crazy imaginations and always telling my parents what I want to be when i grow up and things I wanted to do as a child.
Classroom Extension:
1. Student will get into groups and create and an imaginary story.
2. Groups will draw pictures and present their story to their classmates.
Show Less
LibraryThing member ShopALot
If I Ran the Circus is a great book to add to your poetry collection. This is a fun filled Dr. Suess book that every child will love. This book is about Morris McGurk trying to find a place for an amazing circus. He finds a place at Mr. Sneelock's store where he can clear all of the ruble to make
An extension idea for this book would be to color a Big Top Circus paper or to make a Big Top out of construction paper.
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room for his circus. His dream of an amazing circus gets bigger and bigger and Mr. Sneelock has no idea what he is in store for. He doen't realize that he will have to dispense 500 gallons of lemonade, be lassoed by a Wiley Walloo, wrestle a grizzly-Ghastly, and ski down a slope dotted with giant cacti. McGurkian hopes that the circus lives up to all of his expectations and that the circus takes off. I think that this is a wonderful book for children. Not only fo children love Dr. Suess books for the rhyming words but for the amazing colors that the books have. An extension idea for this book would be to color a Big Top Circus paper or to make a Big Top out of construction paper.
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LibraryThing member edefra1
If I Ran the Circus is another great book by Dr. Seuss, this book is also helpful for students reading because the rhyming helps their fluency. The main message of this book is to use your imagination and to think of ways to make something plain, interesting. Two things I liked about this book was
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how it pushes readers and the illustrations. This book pushes the readers to use their imagination. For example, the main character imagines what his own circus would look like in his neighbors yard. The illustrations were simple but depicted the main characters imagination well. For example, the train had every animal on it that the young boy imagined. Overall this is a goo book but not my favorite Dr. Seuss book. Show Less
LibraryThing member Mad.River.Librarian
Completely suitable read to complement our school's circus residency, albeit a bit long-winded. Feel free to skip a few pages in the middle if kids' start losing interest.
LibraryThing member jfe16
The Circus McGurkus is the world’s greatest show and Morris McGurk is certain that the vacant lot behind Sneelock’s Store would be the perfect spot to set up the circus. And that’s just what he intends to do!
The rhyming text, replete with a variety of Seussian-isms and the good Doctor’s
Highly recommended.
The rhyming text, replete with a variety of Seussian-isms and the good Doctor’s
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trademark delightful silliness is sure to delight readers both young and old. Highly recommended.
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Pages
72
ISBN
039480080X / 9780394800806