On the Loose in Boston (Find the Animals) [Hardcover]

Sage Stossel (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: Find the Animals

With simple rhymes and colorful, highly detailed painting, the prize-winning Atlantic Online cartoonist creates a "Where's Waldo?"-type hit, setting animals free from Franklin Park Zoo and challenging children to find them in settings from Faneuil Hall to Fenway Park. In the city of Boston, / in fair Franklin Park, / sits a snug little zoo / that closes at dark. One morning the keeper / discovered a note. / "We've gone for a walk," / the animals wrote. "Oh, dear," said the keeper, / "what am I to do? / My critters have left me / alone at the zoo. Children will have a ball helping the keeper find a rhinoceros in the North End, a koala bear in Chinatown, and a penguin on Boston Common. Over 100 animals are hiding cleverly in beloved Beantown settings.

Editorial Reviews

Review

It can be hard to find new books that capture the essence of Boston as well as Make Way for Ducklings does, but Sage Stossel's new book On the Loose in Boston is one book for Bostonians to take a good, close look at.

And to clarify, I mean a very good, very close look since in this book the game is to locate many creatively hidden animals on every page. You see, the Franklin Park Zoo animals are wandering through Boston causing all kinds of mischief. Stossel entices the reader using pen and watercolor illustrations to create a visual essence that is Boston in all its glory. Not only are the illustrations awesome, Stossel engages the reader with challenging searches for the Franklin Park Zoo animals artistically hidden among her drawings, and she entertains us with a rhyming plot that tickles the tongue with wonderful vocabulary.

My eight-year-old Trey and I sat down to read this book at bedtime the other night only to find that we became captured by the search challenges and could not put the book away until every last zoo animal was found. This book is a fantastic gift for Bostonians and visitors alike as it features all the hot Boston spots that you know and love. The details Stossel uses in her illustrations are amazing and my son said that he loved the "great views." Trey's excitement as he said, "We've been there!" at every page turn was priceless. This book could easily provide hours of entertainment at home or in the car and even includes a website where children can make their own Boston comic book.

As a teacher and mother I have bought many books and continue to search for books that can entertain beyond one reading. Sage Stossel's book On the Loose in Boston could easily do that! --BostonMamas.com, June 24, 2009

The astute Commonwealth Editions books in Beverly has a line of children's books and launched several delightful titles for young readers last year. The ever-wry Sage Stossel (whose cartoons often brighten our day in the Globe) checks in with a find-the-animals book called On the Loose in Boston, in which Franklin Park Zoo animals pop up in the darndest places. --The Boston Globe, February 1, 2010

About the Author

Sage Stossel is a native of Belmont, Massachusetts, and a graduate of Harvard College (1993), where she contributed a weekly cartoon strip, "Jody," to the Harvard Crimson. She is an editor at The Atlantic Monthly and the books editor of the Radcliffe Quarterly. Her editorial cartoon feature, "Sage, Ink," appears regularly in The Atlantic Monthly Online. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 28 pages
• Publisher: Commonwealth Editions (May 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933212926
• ISBN-13: 978-1933212920
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 10.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #845,621 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sage Stossel is an editor and cartoonist for The Atlantic Monthly Online and a regular contributor of cartoons to The Boston Globe, Copyediting, and The Provincetown Banner, for which she received a 2009 New England Press Association Award. Her cartoons have been featured by The New York Times Week in Review, CNN Headline News, The LA Times, Nieman Reports, Editorial Humor, and elsewhere, and her humor writing has appeared in The Atlantic. Her work is included in Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year, (2005, 2007 & 2009 editions) and Attack of the Political Cartoonists.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars better than Where's Waldo or I Spy, December 9, 2009

By 

a mom - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: On the Loose in Boston (Find the Animals) (Hardcover)

Another great book from Sage Stossel! Both my kids love this - it can be read as a short story or the kids can pour over each page finding the animals, so it fits a good range of ages and is fun to go back to again and again. Being from Boston, I love how it evokes the neighborhoods and sites so well and the kids enjoy seeing places they've visited. The kids love the fun detailed drawings and the challenging searches, and the silly things they notice while they're searching for the animals. The kids enjoy Where's Waldo and I Spy Books, but On the Loose is more fun and I really enjoy reading it with them too. This is my go-to gift for all the kids on our Christmas list this year!

5.0 out of 5 stars On the Loose in Boston, September 1, 2011

By 

Cat lover doc (Steamboat Springs, CO) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: On the Loose in Boston (Find the Animals) (Hardcover)

On the Loose in Boston This was a birthday present for my grandson's third birthday. I watched him open it from my computer and saw him look for the animals hidden in the picture. I remember my children having books that had hidden objects. This book goes a step farther and shows sites of Boston, where he lives, and animals, which he loves.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Boston-themed Book!, September 21, 2010

By 

Travelin' Mamma (El Cerrito, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: On the Loose in Boston (Find the Animals) (Hardcover)

Wonderful gift for a child who has visited or is moving to Boston. The rhymes are wonderful and the drawings of Boston's historic neighborhoods with animals to find in the detailed drawings is just terrific.