Product Description

Simp is a small, fat, ugly dog; nobody loves her and she hasn't got a home. So she sets out in search of a friend and finds a family - and some hidden talents that make her really rather special.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #69028 in Books
• Published on: 1999-03-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
What child could resist Simp, the small, fat ugly little dog who nobody wants? Unable to find a home for her, her owner dumps her near a rubbish tip but even the rats ask her to move on. Simp finally stumbles upon a circus and is taken in by a clown. But the clown has his problems too as his act, firing a rubber ball from a cannon, is becoming boring. The ringmaster gives him one last chance to improve and Simp sees exactly how she can help. She curls up inside the cannon in place of the balland when the cannon is fired ‘WHOOOSH!' out comes Simp giving the clown quite a surprise and delighting the crowds. Suddenly the clown and Simp are celebrities and Simp has a happy home and someone to love her at last.

As ever, John Burningham's attention to detail in the text and dramatic and colourful illustrations create a compelling whole which is doubtless why the book has had so many years' success. Simp will continue to win the hearts of children who will love the story's exciting climax and enjoy the satisfaction of seeing both Simp and her friend the clown helping each other out and Living happily together. (Ages 4 and over) --Alison Jardine

Customer Reviews

A beautifully presented tale about friendship and tolerance
An early work of John Burningham's, Cannonball Simp, tells the story of a stray black pup (Simp)who nobody seems to want. Simp ends up at a circus and acts as a cannonball in a clown's act. The audience and the management of the circus are thrilled by the act. The clown's job is saved and Simp becomes Cannonball Simp, and lives with the clown.
The illustrations are bold, bright and beautiful. The pup is a truly engaging character and the circus is one where animals are treated with respect. The text is both poignant and lively.
This is a Burningham classic.

Up up and away!
Having owned and cherished John Burningham's classic 'Mr Gumpy's Motor Car' as a child, I set out as a parent to see if he had written anymore. I was thrilled to discover a whole range of Burningham efforts, each with the distinctive artwork and the deceptively simple stories. Cannonball Simp is the slightly surreal tale of a dog who finds out where he really belongs; the book is not my favourite of Burningham's but is still better than most childrens' authors could ever produce. However, it is the illustrations that really resonated with me, and I suspect, thousands of others over the years.

Poor Simp!
This is a great book. I read this book to my Year 3 class and they loved it. They were hooked once they realised it was not one of the usual happy stories we read. They were desperate to know what happened to poor Simp.