Lost: Lost and Found Pet Posters from Around the World

Rating:
Summary: interesting idea, mediocre quality (?)
Review: I liked the idea of this book very much. However, the quality of the posters was a let-down. I don't know what the original quality was, but it looks just like a photo-copied group of posters thrown together. If all the originals were in black and white, then the quality is okay. If, however, some of the original posters were in colour, they should have been so reproduced for this book.

Rating:
Summary: interesting idea, mediocre quality (?)
Review: In a brief introduction, Toronto-based illustrator and designer Ian Phillips tells us he began collecting lost pet posters when he lived in Switzerland and his roommate's cat ran away. Posters are separated into Dogs, Cats, Birds and Others; the latter category includes rabbits, cows, hamsters, rats, snakes and ferrets. Posters range from those drawn by children to those displaying sophisticated wit and/or design, and represent fugitives in the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Europe, Japan and Africa. Each entry is on one page that shows the poster with the location identified beneath it. Facing pages make a flip drawing of pets walking across the page, and the book concludes with the author's Missing Pet Poster Tips and some factoids.

The book is more interesting in premise than selection, I thought. Some were poignant but many were not. Still, I'm glad I got this -- the picture of dour cat "Pudding" is almost worth getting the book by itself! -- and it would make a fun gift for pet lovers you know.

Rating:
Summary: interesting premise
Review: In a brief introduction, Toronto-based illustrator and designer Ian Phillips tells us he began collecting lost pet posters when he lived in Switzerland and his roommate's cat ran away. Posters are separated into Dogs, Cats, Birds and Others; the latter category includes rabbits, cows, hamsters, rats, snakes and ferrets. Posters range from those drawn by children to those displaying sophisticated wit and/or design, and represent fugitives in the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Europe, Japan and Africa. Each entry is on one page that shows the poster with the location identified beneath it. Facing pages make a flip drawing of pets walking across the page, and the book concludes with the author's Missing Pet Poster Tips and some factoids.

The book is more interesting in premise than selection, I thought. Some were poignant but many were not. Still, I'm glad I got this -- the picture of dour cat "Pudding" is almost worth getting the book by itself! -- and it would make a fun gift for pet lovers you know.

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books of the year
Review: Lost is one of my favorite books of the year and one of my favorite illustrated book of all time. The combination of brilliant illustrations, fantastic design and real heart make this a true gem. I read it from cover to cover and wept all the way through. There is just so much poignancy here--so much said in so few words about the bond between people and their animals. You couldn't find a better gift for an animal-lover.

Rating:
Summary: What a horror
Review: Some weasel of a book packager, you can't call this hack an author, takes down signs for lost pets and has it published as a book. Meanwhile, people are missing their dogs!

Don't waste your time and money, give either to a dog shelter. And pet a friendly dog!

Look for his next book: Missing Children on Milk Cartons with Funny Names and Unfortunate Faces.

Rating:
Summary: Heartbreakingly Honest
Review: This fabulous, funny, poignant book is a compendium of lost pet posters -- homemade and heartfelt -- collected from around the world. Pets are depicted in everything from old photos (my favorite is the picture of "Pudding," a rotund and grouchy-looking cat) to children's scratchy drawings, and you will fall in love with every one of these poor misplaced animals and their ever-hopeful owners. They range from the strangely strident (witness the fellow who has produced a poster announcing he has found a Siamese cat, but will only return it if the owner can produce five forms of I.D.) to the hysterically funny (often unintentionally -- like that very same Siamese-finder). Ian Phillips has put together a charming, whimsical little book, and it would make a completely brilliant gift for any pet lover on your list.