Larry Gets Lost in Portland3 star

 

 

Larry Gets Lost A Lot

By Michael Mullin & John Skewes, Illustrated by John Skewes
Sasquatch Books, $16.99, 32 pages

Larry Gets Lost in Portland is a clever book about a big-nosed dog named Larry who is separated from his master, Pete, and gets lost in Portland, Oregon. What is clever about this book is the landmarks it reveals about Portland: the Hawthorne Bridge, the Rose Garden Arena, the Burnside Bridge, OMSI, the Oregon Zoo, Powell’s Books and Union Station, just to name a few. A lyrical storyline makes reading fun and flows quite well.  Unfortunately, the tenses are interchanged to make the rhyming work.

This is one of several city-themed storybooks of different metropolises and their most treasured attractions. This series is a great way to educate young readers on geography and national attractions with an engaging story. The locations for the Larry Gets Lost series include Seattle, San Francisco, New York and Chicago.

While Larry and Pete are likable characters and drawn extremely well, the illustrations for this particular book are disappointing. The color schemes are limited to dull yellows, rust-reds, pea greens and on occasion, textured blues. Portland is much more colorful than what is depicted and it would make us more proud to showcase the beauty of our city along with this cute story concept.

Reviewed by M. Chris Johnson

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