What is the name of the book where a boy imagines running his own circus?

The book where a boy imagines running his own circus is “If I Ran the Circus.” Dr. Seuss published it in 1956, with young Morris McGurk imagining the spectacular Circus McGurkus.

Morris dreams of transforming the empty lot behind Mr. Sneelock’s ramshackle store into a dazzling show. His fantasy grows into a parade of impossible performers, animals, stunts, and extravagant attractions, all presented with Seuss’s energetic rhymes and invented words.

A common mix-up is “If I Ran the Zoo,” another Dr. Seuss title and the first book in the two-book “If I Ran the...” sequence. “Circus McGurkus” is the imagined circus inside the story, not the book’s title. Morris’s plans also repeatedly involve Sneelock, who remains unaware of the increasingly demanding role Morris has assigned him.