Christopher returns in this eighth and final picture-book devoted to his adventures, this time accompanying his class on a field trip into the city. Here he has the excitement of riding on a subway for the first time, and gets to experience the wonders of the city aquarium. On the return subway ride however, he gets out at the wrong stop, and finds himself separated from the group. Alarmed at first, he is eventually aided by a police officer, and all turns out well...

Left Behind was somewhat unexpected, in that all of the previous Christopher books focused on his outdoor adventures, frequently during holidays, and always in far more rural settings. It was interesting to see this character in an urban milieu, and I appreciated the positive depiction of the police, as a force that exists to help the citizens, but overall I didn't care for this one as much as its predecessors. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, per se, but it felt somehow out of keeping with the setting and tone of the previous books, and I missed the presence of a canine companion. Tastes vary of course, so I'd still recommend this one to readers who enjoyed the previous books about this character. ( )