She pulls his ears and all the egotistical things he’s ever said come pouring out. His head grows to an incredible size and one day, as he is giving his daily speech, a strong wind blows him off the castle and into a haystack, near the girl who cursed him. Unknown to King Hugo, this girl is a sorceress and she puts a curse on him that causes his head to swell every time he brags.

The coach pushes on anyway and knocks her into the mud. One day, he is riding in his coach and a girl carrying straw refuses to put down her load and let him pass. Every day, he gives a speech to his subjects in which he talks about how wonderful he is. This castle contains: One king (and a royal pug!) Written and Illustrated by Chris Van Dusen Candlewick Press, 2011 Van Dusen takes this event and gives the animals a much happier ending here, where they find a new home with new friends who will take care of them. Although most of the animals did not survive the actual shipwreck, rumors circulated that some of them may have found their way to nearby islands and took up residence there. With him gone, the people and animals lived peacefully together on their island.Īuthor/illustrator Chris Van Dusen includes a note in the back of the book about his inspiration for this story, which came from an actual event in 1836, when a ship carrying circus animals met with disaster. Word reaches him that his boat is leaving, so he hurries to the dock and jumps into a rowboat to catch it.

When the circus owner storms into town, he looks everywhere, but can’t find any animals. The townspeople come up with a plan, determined that to keep their new friends safe. One day, they hear that the circus owner is coming to take the animals back. The villagers realize the animals are friendly and they all live happily together. At first, they don’t know what to do, but then one night, a barn catches on fire with a little girl inside and the tiger, who performs a fire act in the circus, runs in to rescue her. The people living in the village are startled to find their town overrun with exotic animals. Instead, they swim to the closest shore and find a nearby island. When the ship crashes into rocks and sinks, the cruel circus boss only cares about saving himself, leaving the frightened circus animals to drown. The plot in a nutshell: Animals from a shipwreck find a new home.

Written and Illustrated by Chris Van Dusen Candlewick Press, 2009įive miles off the coast of Maine and slightly overdue,Ī circus ship was steaming south in fog as thick as stew.

The circus ship by chris van dusen