As I Was Crossing Boston Common

by Norma Farber, Arnold Lobel (Illustrator)

A rhymed account of all the unusual animals seen crossing Boston Common.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1982

Reviews

[Bronwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember loving this when I was young, so when I needed something to read to my son at bedtime at my parents, this seemed like a good pick. It’s not as fun as I remember, but I love all the different animals. (This was definitely a bit of a thing for me because I have at least one other book with odd animals.)

Read June 26, 2021

[Indran · Rating 5 out of 5]

No doubt one of my fav kids' books of all time... The takeaway is that Earth has a **** ton of animals that you don't know about.

[Ivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book. It's an alphabet book - but really rather ingenious. Exotic animals from A to Z - it's not my favorite alphabet book (which is The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey) but it's a close second. My edition is a flimsy paperback. I'm giving a nice hardback to my nephew this Christmas. The illustrations are by the prodigiously talented Arnold Lobel.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a clever rhyming picture book about a turtle "crossing Boston Common -- not very fast, not very slow" who sees a man leading an assortment of unusual animals. The animals appear in alphabetical order beginning with an Angwantibo (a small West African lemur) and end with a Zibet (an East Indian civet cat). Fortunately there's a listing in the back that identifies each animal with its pronunciation. A lovely picture book classic!

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite of the books my mum used as a nursery school/kindergarten teacher. I try to give it to parents of toddlers because a) it is an alphabet book they are unlikely to already have and b) the children will most likely roll and roll with laughter as their parents struggle to pronounce some of the animal names.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a unique alphabet book which names, in alphabetical order, 26 unusual animals that the turtle narrator sees as he crosses Boston Common. Miss Muffet and Little Bo Peep both loved repeating the animal names, and we all enjoyed Arnold Lobel's drawings of each one.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved this sweet little A-to-Z book for over 20 years. I am saddened as my paperback binding shows its age more each year. This is a book of exotic animals from A to Z, sure to excite young biologists and others. I have read it to my own children on my lap, to students in my classrooms, to my growing children as we drove on vacation toward Boston, where we would cross Boston Commons, laughing about this book along with Make Way for Ducklings. It can be used to introduce some new exotic animals to a classroom for research projects. We can compare the story with how people today like to walk their dogs, or have exotic pets, connecting then to other picture or chapter books. The illustrations can be the source of discussion on art style. They also can contribute some visual clues to information on cities in the 19th century. It really has stood the test of time for me.

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The list of unusual animals is what makes this book unique. I can imagine children asking "what is a yaguarundi?" and asking to do research on these uncommon creatures. Good teaching book, maybe? It certainly opens a lot of discussion and exploring.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely music. lovely.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

An alphabet for older children, uncommon animals and no larger letters (upper or lower case.) However, a cute story celebrating the uncommon.