The Great Escape from City Zoo [Hardcover]

Tohby Riddle (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up

When an anteater, an elephant, a turtle, and a flamingo go over the wall at City Zoo, the adventure begins! Hot on their heels come the Zookeepers, but for this band of escapees the quest for a new life -- a better life -- knows no bounds. Told with the flair of a 1930s Hollywood drama, this clever romp follows the heroic foursome as they take up the fugitive's life among humans. Tohby Riddle's droll, soft-toned images are filled with an array of pop culture references, from Edward Hopper's Nighthawks to the Beatles' Abbey Road. As proclaimed by The Horn Book in its "News from Down Under" column, "The result soars straight and true right across age barriers ... Gently clever, exquisitely designed, rich with allusion."

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Many years ago, in a daring escape still talked of in zoos worldwide, an elephant, an anteater, a turtle, and a flamingo went "over the wall" at the city zoo. This is their story, spun tersely but dramatically in simple language, accompanied by strangely compelling monochromatic illustrations that reference pop culture icons from Edward Hopper's Nighthawks to King Kong. Young children might not be ready for the obvious parallels drawn between prisons and zoos, but the gentle humor and marvelous pictures will draw them into the story. Each of the animals, except the flamingo, is eventually recaptured--the anteater when he faints in front of a taxidermist's, the turtle when he falls on his back in a truck stop and is unable to get up--but their experience as fugitives makes for fun children's reading. No one knows what happened to the flamingo (unconfirmed sightings include a grainy illustration that resembles the loch ness monster) but in the annals of zoo history, he lives on as a symbol of freedom and hope. It's easy to see why this book was short-listed for the Children's Book Council of Australia Picture Book of the Year Award. (Click to see a sample spread. Copyright 1997 by Tohby Riddle. With permission of the publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux.) (Ages 4 to 8) --Richard Farr

From Publishers Weekly

A quirky plot and monochromatic, olive-toned illustrations set a 1920s mood for this understated tale. When four unlikely companionsAan elephant, a flamingo, an anteater and a turtleAescape from a zoo, they roam the city streets clothed in a variety of outfits (the anteater dons chef's garb, the turtle a sailor's uniform) "so that no one would notice them... so that they could blend in." This ironic tone informs Australian author and artist Riddle's compositions as well: the quartet watches King Kong on the big screen, checks out a museum with paintings by the likes of De Chirico and Magritte, and sits around an Edward Hopper-inspired bar. The sophistication of many of the jokes may make the book most popular with adults, but the characters themselves exude kid appeal. The elephant borrows the simplicity of line of Babar; his wan smile betrays the foursome's feeling of displacement outside of their zoo home. Youngsters will also respond to the broad humor as the zookeepers capture the anteater when he faints in front of a taxidermist's window (a sign reads, "You snuff 'em, We stuff 'em"), the elephant when he can't resist cavorting in a Western town's fountain and the turtle when he falls on his back at a truck stop and can't get up. The closing "unconfirmed sightings" of the flamingo as a kind of Loch Ness Monster, a familiar-shaped lawn ornament and a figure adorning the top of a Vegas-style Flamingo casino will likely prompt laughter across the board. Riddle's background as a cartoonist serves him well; each finely honed illustration tells its own brief story. Ages 3-up. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374327769
• ISBN-13: 978-0374327767
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 9.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,912,240 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An adult story for children., January 18, 2000

By 

Heather Contos "Mrs C" (The Rocky Mountains) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Escape from City Zoo (Hardcover)

The author and illustrator of this book did quite a job! It is very 'tricky' to tell such a serious story, that carries such deep meaning, to a 6 year old. But it worked! I have had to read it a few times to my daughter. I like books that open doors for children and that encourage them to ask questions about real life things. Like: "Why did the 'bad guys' take them away?", and "Will 'the bad guys' always try and get the Flamingo?". It has shown my daughter, the price that freedom sometimes has. Very different approach to children's books, with an undertone of seriousness, and a hint of humor. If you want 'jolly', do not get this book. If you want lessons-on-life, do!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great escape, March 8, 2004

By 

Angela (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Escape from City Zoo (Hardcover)

Tohby Riddle is one of my favourite children's authors. He has a great sense of humour that appeals to adults and children alike. Great Escape uses lots of pop culture references - The Beatles Abbey Road album cover, King Kong and the Lochness Monster, etc - in a way that creates humour for more mature readers, but because the fun and exciting story doesn't rely on understanding these references, the book remains a real crowd-pleaser.
One of the great myths about kid's picture books is that if they're not bright and colourful, they're no good. Riddle's Black&White illustrated Great Escape should convince sceptics once and for all that this is not true.

5.0 out of 5 stars Very very worth while, January 13, 2007

By 

Big Guy "B.A." (Virginia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Great Escape from City Zoo (Hardcover)

Great kids book by a vitural unknown. After reading (and buying) the Singing Hat, I took this from the library and had to have it. It even uses the Nighthawks picture with a little liberty taken. The guy's a genius, and my literary hero. He's the Dave Barry of Australia who quit to write childrens books, and did a great job. Enough irony for the adults. Get it.