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Beaver Is Lost
Oh, no—Beaver is lost! Will he ever find his way back home?
In this nearly wordless picture book by Elisha Cooper, winner of a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book award, a young beaver is accidentally separated from his family. Follow Beaver as he's chased by a dog, visits a zoo, and even finds himself in the middle of a busy city street.
In the vein of beloved classics like Flotsam and Good Night, Gorilla, this book is the perfect gift for future graphic novel enthusiasts. With luminous pencil-and-watercolor illustrations by an artist whose work the New York Times has called "simple and quiet and essentially perfect," Beaver Is Lost is sure to delight animal lovers everywhere.
In this nearly wordless picture book by Elisha Cooper, winner of a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book award, a young beaver is accidentally separated from his family. Follow Beaver as he's chased by a dog, visits a zoo, and even finds himself in the middle of a busy city street.
In the vein of beloved classics like Flotsam and Good Night, Gorilla, this book is the perfect gift for future graphic novel enthusiasts. With luminous pencil-and-watercolor illustrations by an artist whose work the New York Times has called "simple and quiet and essentially perfect," Beaver Is Lost is sure to delight animal lovers everywhere.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
1 person is currently reading
100 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
February 20, 2017
A book without words allowed me to create a story for Neo. He liked all the antics Beaver undertook to get back to his family. Perhaps my zany side added some drama and laughs!
March 24, 2011
Well, this one just didn't really do much for me... I suppose kids could have fun following the beaver on his journey throughout the city (and it's cute that a little mouse/rat helps him for part of the trip; that was my favorite part) but I could also imagine some being a little alarmed at some of the things he goes through (i.e., getting chased by a dog) though, of course, it all ends well. For me, it was just okay so I suggest you read the GoodReads blurb about this and some of the glowing reviews (i.e., NY Times Best Illustrated Children's Book Award) because clearly this just wasn't my style but others adore it.
January 30, 2018
A nice story about a beaver and his great adventure awa from home.
February 17, 2020
It was a quick read. Not much to say, but a very nice picture book.
January 12, 2011
Wordless, love the watercolor; someone else mentioned all the different kinds of water and I loved that too; lots to talk about together with this book! My main quibble is that it never looks like Beaver FEELS lost and he doesn't ACT lost...or at least, he never does any of the things that I do when I'm lost: never stops to look around, never comes up against a dead end, never backtracks or tries a different path, never asks for help, never stops to buy Twizzlers to cheer himself up. From the moment he jumps down from the logging truck, every step leads to the next one, until he's home. Don't get me wrong, it's a very satisfying journey! But I want to call the book "Beaver Goes Home" instead.
November 9, 2016
Poor beaver travels from home, quite by accident, through the city, suburbs, parks, the zoo, and safety back home again! Phew!
September 30, 2019
1. No awards.
2. This is appropriate for K-2.
3. While in the forest a beaver comes across a logging company transporting wood into the city. He catches a ride on the truck and winds up walking and swimming all throughout the city. He comes across other animals, people and terrain that he's never seen before, until he finally ends up back where he started with his family.
4. I thought it was a goof tale about perseverance. The beaver walks all over the place until he finally finds his way back home. It also places importance on the family and having people to come home to.
5. This could sever as a good read-aloud and have students have them do a writing project about a time they were happy to come home. Or a book to be in their book box.
6. I would pair this book with "Not Quite Narwhal," by Jessie Sima. Which is also about the importance of family.
2. This is appropriate for K-2.
3. While in the forest a beaver comes across a logging company transporting wood into the city. He catches a ride on the truck and winds up walking and swimming all throughout the city. He comes across other animals, people and terrain that he's never seen before, until he finally ends up back where he started with his family.
4. I thought it was a goof tale about perseverance. The beaver walks all over the place until he finally finds his way back home. It also places importance on the family and having people to come home to.
5. This could sever as a good read-aloud and have students have them do a writing project about a time they were happy to come home. Or a book to be in their book box.
6. I would pair this book with "Not Quite Narwhal," by Jessie Sima. Which is also about the importance of family.
March 12, 2019
1) No awards.
2) Ages 3-6
3) This wordless picture book follows a beaver's journey after he is loaded into a truck and taken away from his home. He must get through a number of obstacles like a zoo, city streets, and a backyard pool before reaching his dam.
4) This book only contains 4 words but is filled with great illustrations. Because it has no words, it works well open a child's imagination. I would recommend this book to young children.
5) I would use this book in my class to explore my students imagination. I would move throughout the book asking the children what they see and what they think might happen next.
2) Ages 3-6
3) This wordless picture book follows a beaver's journey after he is loaded into a truck and taken away from his home. He must get through a number of obstacles like a zoo, city streets, and a backyard pool before reaching his dam.
4) This book only contains 4 words but is filled with great illustrations. Because it has no words, it works well open a child's imagination. I would recommend this book to young children.
5) I would use this book in my class to explore my students imagination. I would move throughout the book asking the children what they see and what they think might happen next.
May 6, 2019
Awards the Book Has Received:
- n/a
Appropriate Grade Level(s):
PK-K
Original Summary:
A beaver's adventure begins on a log that floats away from his home and into the city. Before finding his way back, the beaver has many plausible adventures. The action is depicted in well-placed, realistic illustrations in a nearly wordless book.
Original Review:
The action is depicted in well-placed, realistic illustrations in a nearly wordless book.
Possible In-Class Uses:
D.E.A.R. Time
- n/a
Appropriate Grade Level(s):
PK-K
Original Summary:
A beaver's adventure begins on a log that floats away from his home and into the city. Before finding his way back, the beaver has many plausible adventures. The action is depicted in well-placed, realistic illustrations in a nearly wordless book.
Original Review:
The action is depicted in well-placed, realistic illustrations in a nearly wordless book.
Possible In-Class Uses:
D.E.A.R. Time
February 18, 2020
Beaver is lost is a wonderful wordless story about a Beaver that is accidentally separated from his family. Throughout the story, we go on an adventure with Beaver in hopes that we can help him find his family again. We chase a dog, go to the zoo, and tour the big city. The author does an amazing job telling a story without any words. Children can easily comprehend the meaning and explain to the class what they are seeing.
November 28, 2020
Beaver is Lost by Elisha Cooper is a very cute book. This children's book has awesome illustrations and will really keep the reader's attention in my opinion. It discusses how the beaver lands in a big city and follows him through his adventures. Although I really enjoyed this children's book, it is not one that is a must have in my opinion. It is cute...but not essential for a classroom. I do recommend it, but there are others that I would put before it.
-Kristen
-Kristen
August 14, 2023
If you prefer picture books with as few words as possible, you're going to love "Beaver Is Lost."
Will the young beaver be able to find his way back home?
Follow that journey through the pictures, natch.
FIVE STARS on behalf of readers who prefer to "read" without having to bother with words. (For sure, I am not in your number.)
Will the young beaver be able to find his way back home?
Follow that journey through the pictures, natch.
FIVE STARS on behalf of readers who prefer to "read" without having to bother with words. (For sure, I am not in your number.)
September 13, 2017
I really liked that this book is centered on a more unusual animal for kids' books and takes place in Chicago and the Lincoln Park Zoo, which actually houses the rare zoo beaver! (Justine, I think.) Cooper's illlustrations are, as usual, very nice.
January 28, 2020
One of my favorite things about this book is the watercolor. For me, in a wordless book, you have to have interpret-able art that children can use their imagination with. I really enjoyed this book because the fun art allows children to make up stories about the beaver and his adventure.
October 7, 2020
Cute book with really nice illustrations. It's mostly a picture book, with only a few written words at all (at the beginning and end). I think this could therefore make for great oral narration when read aloud to a child (I was just reading it alone, silently). It seemed to mostly be about a beaver inhabiting human spaces / human society, which (as a Beaver Believer!) felt like a little bit of a missed opportunity to share information about beavers and their behaviors and characteristics (which are very cool!).
August 8, 2017
Wonderful illustrations!
May 13, 2019
I’m not sure why I got this book from the library as I’m not a fan of wordless books. My baby didn’t stay interested long because the pictures use muted colors. Meh.
July 1, 2019
Beautiful!
November 4, 2020
A beaver's adventure begins on a log that floats away from his home and into the city. Before finding his way back, the beaver has many plausible adventures.
December 3, 2021
Beaver got separated from his family and lodge. Finding himself lost in the city he follows the flow of water to try to find his way home. Told in wonderful illustrations and only four words.
December 22, 2023
Lovely adventure and beautiful illustrations. Very few words, but the visuals are grand!
April 3, 2015
Beaver is Lost- Wordless book
Text to self connection: When I was looking for wordless books, I found this one and while I wasn't sure how meaningful a book about a lost beaver could be, I was intrigued by the cover because it has the Chicago skyline on it. I am from Illinois and lived in Chicago for 2 years and I feel like it is very much a part of my upbringing and culture I was raised in. The pictures were fairly accurate, even with the statues on top of the sign at the Lincoln Park Zoo were illustrated. Also, any book that is about an animals is interesting to me.
Text to text connection: I feel like I connected this book to the Dr. Seuss book "Are you my Mother?" because it reminded me about the bird who searches high and low for his mother. The bird is lost looking for his mother, and in this book the beaver is lost looking to find its family again. The baby bird goes all over asking so many things if they are his mother, and in this book the beaver goes through so many places in Chicago looking for his way home. Also, the fact that both of the books are about animals make them very similar.
Text to world connection: This book has an underlying message about deforestation and humans invading wildlife space. The beaver gets lost because the humans are cutting down trees and sending the logs down the river. The beaver climbs onto one and gets transported on a truck into the city where it gets lost and tries to find its way back home. I think this speaks volumes for the issue of invading wildlife space around the globe. We are cutting down rainforests, overfishing our oceans, and building on land that used to house wildlife among many other things. We are either taking homes away from animals or forcing them out of their homes. Even though the story is about the beaver getting lost, the reason it is lost is because of the trees being cut down.
Text to self connection: When I was looking for wordless books, I found this one and while I wasn't sure how meaningful a book about a lost beaver could be, I was intrigued by the cover because it has the Chicago skyline on it. I am from Illinois and lived in Chicago for 2 years and I feel like it is very much a part of my upbringing and culture I was raised in. The pictures were fairly accurate, even with the statues on top of the sign at the Lincoln Park Zoo were illustrated. Also, any book that is about an animals is interesting to me.
Text to text connection: I feel like I connected this book to the Dr. Seuss book "Are you my Mother?" because it reminded me about the bird who searches high and low for his mother. The bird is lost looking for his mother, and in this book the beaver is lost looking to find its family again. The baby bird goes all over asking so many things if they are his mother, and in this book the beaver goes through so many places in Chicago looking for his way home. Also, the fact that both of the books are about animals make them very similar.
Text to world connection: This book has an underlying message about deforestation and humans invading wildlife space. The beaver gets lost because the humans are cutting down trees and sending the logs down the river. The beaver climbs onto one and gets transported on a truck into the city where it gets lost and tries to find its way back home. I think this speaks volumes for the issue of invading wildlife space around the globe. We are cutting down rainforests, overfishing our oceans, and building on land that used to house wildlife among many other things. We are either taking homes away from animals or forcing them out of their homes. Even though the story is about the beaver getting lost, the reason it is lost is because of the trees being cut down.
April 4, 2011
Another (nearly wordless--2 sentences) beautiful book by Elisha Cooper...this time a beaver finds himself transported to a city on a logging truck. Confused and lost, he wanders in and out of the zoo (seeing other beavers behind glass may not have been alluring). When he travels under the city, it is nicely handled, not a grossout. He finally makes a determined journey full circle. Children will pour over the frames of art that relay the story leaving much to one's imagination and interpretation.
January 16, 2015
A random cute story I found when it passed through my work at the library. I like the quiet absurdity of the beaver ending up in the city by obliviously sitting on a log taken for lumber. The page opposite the words "Beaver is lost" captures the sort expression of one who was so thoroughly engrossed in something (nibbling on a tree) and who suddenly becomes aware that things have changed around them unexpectedly. Enjoyable throughout is how people are so strangely oblivious to the beaver, but the beaver subtly interacts with other animals (two dogs, a mouse(?) and beavers in a zoo).
April 2, 2015
Wordless
The story of this book is pretty straight forward, a beaver is lost in what resembles New York City. At points in the story, whole page pictures of the beaver or the city are incredibly bright and interesting to look at. This is book of predictions because the beaver ends up in various different areas of the city. While Omaha isn’t the biggest city in the world, most kids will be able to make connections in this book to areas in Omaha. The story is simple yet satisfying to look through, each page makes you want to go to the next one.
The story of this book is pretty straight forward, a beaver is lost in what resembles New York City. At points in the story, whole page pictures of the beaver or the city are incredibly bright and interesting to look at. This is book of predictions because the beaver ends up in various different areas of the city. While Omaha isn’t the biggest city in the world, most kids will be able to make connections in this book to areas in Omaha. The story is simple yet satisfying to look through, each page makes you want to go to the next one.
January 27, 2010
Three words and fifty-some "essentially perfect" illustrations make this a Caldecott contender. Elisha Cooper rarely disappoints and this may be one his best yet. Reminiscent of Brigg's Snowman and the contemporary popular graphic novel format, these illustrations are boxed and sized in order to tell a smoothly flowing story of a lost beaver and his urban adventure. A real winner, by all accounts. Will be treasured most by Chicagoans.
April 15, 2011
Lately, I've really come to enjoy wordless picture books, and this one is no exception (well, the exception is that it does include 4 words). When beaver floats away from home, he's taken on a journey through the city and into town and back out to his home again. Spend some time looking over this with a child--I'm sure they'll get a lot out of it that your adult eyes missed the first time through.
January 5, 2015
I'm not usually a fan of wordless (or mostly wordless) pictures books, and books like this would be the reason why.
The story to this book doesn't really make sense, and it still wouldn't really make sense if text were added. Yes, it is obvious to kids where the beaver is, but it isn't obvious to kids (or anyone) why the beaver is there.
The illustrations are serviceable, but not particularly beautiful, stunning, whimsical, or in any other way excellent.
The story to this book doesn't really make sense, and it still wouldn't really make sense if text were added. Yes, it is obvious to kids where the beaver is, but it isn't obvious to kids (or anyone) why the beaver is there.
The illustrations are serviceable, but not particularly beautiful, stunning, whimsical, or in any other way excellent.
September 10, 2010
You can talk about the differences between city and country, how many different ways we use water (swimming pool, manmade swan pond, fountain, sewers), how beavers are the loggers of the animal kingdom, how logging sometimes disrupts animal life, how beavers live in zoos sometimes but that's not as nice as home in the wilderness, etc. All rivers lead home.
December 2, 2010
While I enjoyed the illustrations and the storyline to this nearly wordless picture book, I never felt like the Beaver was lost, more that he was overwhelmed. I liked this because it is how I frequently feel in big cities, and how children can feel surrounded by things they don't quite understand and aren't quite sure where they fit in.
Kirkus Best Children's Books 2010
Kirkus Best Children's Books 2010
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews