Luke on the Loose

As he sits and listens to his dad participate in “Boring dad talk” at Central Park, young Luke decides it would be much more fun to chase a flock of pigeons in Harry Bliss’ Luke on the Loose. “Yaah!” shouts Luke, as he stirs the pigeons into a flurry and begins chasing them through the park. The next thing Luke’s dad knows, he has lost his son, and must phone his wife and the police. While a city-wide search for Luke begins, he continues to merrily chase the pigeons through the streets and over the bridges of New York City. His adventure culminates when the pigeons take flight and he climbs onto the roof of a building in pursuit.
This fast paced, easy to read graphic novel puts most of the emphasis for the story on the show more illustrations, which are bright and full of emotion and fun. The cartoon style of the illustrations and the expressiveness on the faces of the characters serve to further the understanding of what the characters are thinking. Bliss creates an exuberant main character that is surrounded by appropriately concerned adults and often comically concerned animals. The simple joy and sense of adventure from chasing a flock of pigeons is contagious, and makes for a wonderful romp. This adventure would be a wonderful read-aloud that is sure to please young audiences. Recommended for Pre-K-2. show less

This book is fun! It would definitely engage young or older readers. it is sure to get some laughs.This could be a a way for teachers or parents to start a conversions about safety. The conversation might be remembered easier since its funny and engaging.

This is a book that I can see early readers being drawn to. The graphic novel style is very attractive to readers of all ages. As i read about Luke and his shenanigans throughout the city of New York, I was reminded of my love for comics in elementary school. I read my share of "Archie", and this series is reminiscent of good clean fun. Luke goes on a wild adventure through NYC while his dad is engaged in "boring" adult conversation at lunch. The text is repetitive and appropriate for emerging readers. It's nice that there is a series. Young readers, much like adults, enjoy getting hooked on a series and following a character throughout the pages of several books.

We've been going through a few of those new Toon Books, and they're actually a welcome change from the ancient early readers that we otherwise typically manage to find at the library (as good as [b:Henry and Mudge: The First Book|820863|Henry and Mudge The First Book (Henry and Mudge, #1)|Cynthia Rylant|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347231275s/820863.jpg|1589622] may be). This one is really easy, mostly very basic words, but there's also quite a bit of onomatopoeia. There isn't much to the story: a little boy wanders away from his daddy, chasing pigeons, creating quite the implausible ruckus in the process. It's not terribly creative, but illustrated in a nice european cartoon style it's an agreeable read and my four year old got show more through it before it started to bore him the least. In one of the frames I spotted Captain Haddock, from [b:Tintin|165555|The Crab With the Golden Claws|Hergé|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328086778s/165555.jpg|185664], so after thinking "can that be?" I went back and scanned through the whole book, spotting three more classic cartoon characters that I had missed earlier (I had just been looking over my son's shoulder as he read), that's sort of a nice touch too! These Toon Books are definitely good picks for the emerging reader. show less

This is a good fit for the younger set, as there are many pictures to guide their reading while at the same time provides enough text to provide adequate learning opportunities. Hopefully the kids reading this book realize that Luke was in extreme error in running off on their parents like he did. Would be a good teaching moment if read to children.

Luke is at the park with his father one day when his father meets up with a friend and the two men begin to chat. They talk and talk, “boring dad talk,” and while they are busy Luke takes off, chasing some pigeons.
Luke’s father looks around just in time to see his little son bolting across the park in a cloud of pigeon feathers. People walking their dogs, pedestrians, and everyone in Luke’s path are sent flying as the little boy chases pigeons through the park and through the streets of New York City. Who knew that one little boy could cause so much chaos?

Such fun to read! Luke chases the pigeons, wreaking havoc throughout the city.