This vibrant children’s book tells the story of Olivia, who goes to the shops to buy eggs for her mother, and returns home with a circus instead.

The illustrations are just beautiful and capture the characters of the animals so well. Olivia’s mother is exceedingly patient, and the story highlights the importance of being a good neighbour, taking initiative and being responsible. It cleverly introduces the concept of idioms for a young audience, particularly ‘Not my circus, not my monkeys!’

Thank you Capstone and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book had great illustrations and was very cute. It also had a great message. However I realize that I love children’s books more about people than animals so I did not enjoy this as much as I would’ve otherwise.

Bringing home a whole unruly circus instead of groceries creates an entirely different set of circumstances! With determination and adaptive critical thinking changes are made in expectations and outcomes (and learning about idioms).
The illustrations by Patrick Corrigan are fun, detailed, brilliant, and absolutely delightful.
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to anyone, but especially to a school or your local public library!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Star Bright Books via NetGalley. Thank you!
@CBCBook

I have already pre-ordered this book for my classroom and recommended it to many friends. It made me laugh out loud. Such a good book and cute story!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was so cute oh my god! The story was fun, engaging and hilarious. The illustration was beautiful! I also love how they include other idioms by the end of the book for the little ones to guess what they mean. I totally recommend it.

"Not My Circus" by Janet Sumner Johnson is a truly delightful children's book that's full of whimsy and humor. It all starts with Olivia's innocent mistake of buying a circus instead of eggs, which leads to a series of comical mishaps, including food fights and potty training challenges that any parent can empathize with. You can practically feel her mom's frustration in the story.

Janet Sumner Johnson does a fantastic job of infusing important life lessons about responsibility, determination, and creative thinking into this entertaining tale. Her storytelling is imaginative and heartwarming, making it easy for young readers to connect with Olivia's journey as she tries to show she's in charge of this unexpected circus. "Not My Circus" isn't just a source of laughter; it also subtly imparts valuable values in a way that kids and parents can enjoy together. It's a wonderful addition to any children's book collection, striking a perfect balance between silliness and the kind of lessons we want our kids to learn.

The cover of “Not My Circus” is what initially drew me to this book, and the illustrations inside were just as cute and eye-catching. This story about a girl and her adopted circus animals is fun, with a sweet message about learning responsibility. I could have done without the pages about the elephant poo, though. That’s not really the sort of thing I want my kids latching onto. That section aside, it has a catchy phrase repeated throughout, colorful illustrations, and an easy to follow message, making it a sure hit with young kids.

Hilarious! Janet Sumner Johnson does it again. Fun story, and engaging plot that ups the stakes and the surprises as the reader turns the pages. Teachers will love it for the solid messages and use of idioms; kids will love all the laugh out loud fun.

I adored Not My Circus! What a fun, well-written and enchanting kids book. I loved that the illustrations fit the book in a well-rounded way and felt that the entire story was easy to understand but still complex enough to hold attention.

I really like this book. The message about taking responsibility, even when it's hard is given over beautifully. The illustrations are adorable and expressive, the story is engaging and funny and the layout is great.
However, some of the illustrations of Mr. Victor seemed unnecessarily immodest. On vacation, Mr. Victor is first depicted in a two-piece bathing suit. He is later depicted in a speedo with a tan line where his fuller bathing suit was. It did not add anything to the narrative or the power of the illustrations.
It seemed off putting.

Otherwise, this is a great book.

This charming story about Olivia's unexpected circus purchase brilliantly weaves themes of responsibility, determination, and creative thinking into a hilarious adventure. The whimsical tale captures young readers' imaginations while delivering an essential life lesson.

Janet Sumner Johnson's storytelling is engaging and memorable, making it a perfect addition to any collection. The colorful illustrations and Olivia's endearing journey are bound to leave a lasting impression. I highly recommend "Not My Circus" for its valuable life lessons and enjoyable storytelling. It's a must-read for kids who love animals and imaginative adventures.

Thank you to NetGalley and Capstone for the Digital ARC.

#NotMyCircus #NetGalley

Such a cute book. I loved the illustrations and the story of the girl getting to keep her animals and them learning manners. It was very cute and a great example on responsibility.

This book was fun and surprising the whole way through.. Illustrations your kids will want to pore over. A great read aloud.

I loved this story! Such a great lesson on acting on impulse then having to stick with your actions and make the plan work. Also an introduction to idioms that's easy to understand for children. Thank you to Janet Sumner Johnson and Capstone Editions for allowing me this arc version in exchange for my review.

The illustration is so cute and the story is well written and fun. And I think this book is a good idea to teach the children some idioms those can be used in daily life. I love idioms and the plus from this book is there is an information about the meaning of all of the idioms that used in the book, it's brilliant. It's because sometimes I forget what's the meaning of the idioms so it really helps a lot to explain it to the children.

Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review..

Cute and silly. I really like the phrase "Not my circus, not my monkeys" now. I liked the animals and the clever little girl.

This book made me laugh out loud. Not only is the story adorable and funny, but the illustrations are beautiful and add little details that were super fun to discover. I love it!

Thank you so much to Captsone / Capstone Editions and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Olivia sees circus animals for sale at a market and buys them, but then they cause trouble and her mom says they have to go, the neighbours say they have to go and so does the mayor. Each time Olivia emails Mr. Victor he says they’re not his. So to save them from the zoo she has to come up with an plan.

This was whimsical and fun, it’s a nice simple funny read, I loved the concept of her finding these animals that are wild and chaotic and that she trains them to have manners and become very helpful, then everyone wants to have them help out. It was so funny and unusual.

The illustrations were really pretty and good I really enjoyed looking at them seeing all the animals and what they were up to on each page, they were really great to see, beautifully done. I think children are going to really love reading this one as it’s funny, it’s nice to look at, it’s very different to other books, they will really enjoy it and parents will enjoy reading it with them.

This is a very well illustrated book. My daughter loved looking at all the animals on each page and seeing what they were up to. Olivia's quick thinking turning the circus "pets" into something more wins over her mom, the neighbors, and the mayor in the end! I have always loved the phrase, "not my circus, not my monkeys" so this book is a cute play on that idea. I will admit, the entire page on raining elephant poo was a little much for my taste, but kids love toilet humor, so maybe it will fly with them. I think the age range listed is appropriate and this would be a fun book to get kids to think about thinking outside of the box to solve problems.

Thank you NetGallery for the opportunity to review, all review comments and opinions are my own.

Not my circus is something that I say often. So that's what initially drew me to this title. It is such a cute book that I could totally use in my classroom to teach theme!