Second-grade teacher Ms. Splinter takes going to the circus very seriously. After all, there is important circus-related information that she must communicate to her class. And that means no fidgeting. Ms. Splinter"s mini-dissertations on various circus animals and performers make up the text of this lively picture book: "According to the dictionary, clown comes from the Old Norse word klonne, meaning "clumsy fellow." Now, sit still, class, hands on laps. Let"s leave the clowning to the clowns." What Ms. Splinter doesn"t know (but readers do know from the pictures), is that young Emeline slips away from the class to feed peanuts to the elephant, is swooped up by the elephant"s trunk, is plunked down in front of a klonne, and becomes part of the circus herself! Caldecott Honor winner Marjorie Priceman"s breathtakingly gorgeous, color-soaked illustrations tell their own story as Emeline swings from a tightrope, nearly falls into a hippo"s mouth, is saved by a strongman, faces off with a tiger, and kisses a monkey. Only when Emeline starts performing on the flying trapeze does Ms. Splinter catch on. "What an expert aerialist!" she cries. "What a brave little..." "EMELINE!?!" Needless to say, kids will relish the fact that Ms. Splinter is left in the dark as Emeline has her day in the sun. (Click to see a sample spread. Copyright 1999 by Marjorie Priceman. Reproduced with permission of Alfred A. Knopf.) (Ages 5 and older, best for reading aloud) --Karin Snelson