Circus, Circus!

I created the following circus display in the children's area of the public library I managed for 9 years. We didn't have a budget for displays, so I used whatever I had on hand at the library or could find at my house, with the exception of the beach balls, which I picked up at the dollar store. I wish I had better picture of the Big Top, but I strung crepe paper from the ceiling at the middle of the children's area to create the illusion of a circus tent.

I hung a couple of beach balls from the ceiling to make it look like the seals were playing with them and one was balancing it on his nose.

I made the seals from navy blue folders-- you can still see the creases where I unfolded them. I taped them to a book end to stand it up on the table.

I taped half-circles of two different colors of paper around the edges of the three round tables to give them the effect of performing platforms.  In the background, you can see some of the circus theme shelf markers sticking out of the bookshelves-- clown hands and an elephant's snoot. 

I displayed circus theme books on the tables.

Shelf markers - clown feet, a leopard's tail, and the elephant snoot.

More shelf markers: a tiger's paws and tail, and a lion's tail.

A different way to display the tiger paws and tail.

I love the challenge of coming up with creative displays on little or no budget. I've found some amazing things behind stores in town-- display racks, perfectly good materials, etc. You'd be surprised what you can come up with, and it's so much fun to see the children's faces when they come into the library and see an environment that gets them excited about reading.