Lost and Found [Hardcover]

Oliver Jeffers (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: December 29, 2005 | Age Range: 3 - 8 years

What is a boy to do when a lost penguin shows up at his door? Find out where it comes from, of course, and return it. But the journey to the South Pole is long and difficult in the boy’s rowboat. There are storms to brave and deep, dark nights.To pass the time, the boy tells the penguin stories. Finally, they arrive. Yet instead of being happy, both are sad. That’s when the boy realizes: The penguin hadn’t been lost, it had merely been lonely!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2–Once there was a boy who found a penguin at his door. From this opening line to the very end, this gentle story of friendship will capture young readers' imaginations. The child assumes that the penguin is lost, which is logical since the lumpy black-and-white bird does look awfully forlorn. Determined to help the creature find its way home, he discovers that penguins come from the South Pole, and the two board a rowboat. During their long sea voyage, the youngster passes the time by telling his companion many stories. However, when they finally reach their destination, he realizes that the penguin was not lost, but just lonely and looking for a friend. The soft watercolor paintings feature simple shapes and a palette that ranges from pale to bold. The boy has a square body, stick legs, and a round head with tiny dot eyes and an expressive mouth. For much of the tale, the characters are placed on crisp white backdrops, while colorful ocean scenes depict their journey. The text's subtle humor and the appealing visuals make this title a wonderful read-aloud.–Genevieve Gallagher, Murray Elementary School, Charlottesville, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-K. On his doorstep, a little boy finds a penguin looking sad and lost, and he tries to help the wordless bird. When the boy discovers that penguins come from the South Pole, he takes his new friend there by rowboat, telling him stories along the way. He helps the penguin ashore and casts off. The penguin sadly watches him float away. Realizing his mistake, the boy returns for the penguin, misses him, finds him, hugs him, and takes him back in his rowboat. A sense of restraint underlies the illustrations, from the spare use of color to the isolation of the individual characters on the page. With clean lines and varied compositions, the watercolor paintings tell the story with a minimum of fuss but no lack of feeling. But unlike characters in the soppier sort of picture books on friendship, the boy and the penguin don't gush; they just quietly enjoy being together. With a succinct narrative text and a series of expressive illustrations, this is a fine choice for reading aloud. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 3 - 8 years
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Philomel (December 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399245030
• ISBN-13: 978-0399245039
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 0.4 x 10.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 17.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,530 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Children's Books > Social Situations > Social Skills
  • #34 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Birds

More About the Author

Oliver Jeffers is an artist, designer, illustrator and writer from Northern Ireland. He graduated from the University of Ulster with a degree in Visual Communication.

From figurative painting and installation, to illustration and picture-book making, his work has been exhibited in New York, Dublin, London, Sydney, Washington DC, and Belfast.

He is widely known for his picture books for children, published by HarperCollins UK and Penguin USA. How to Catch a Star debuted in 2004 to critical acclaim, and Lost and Found (2005), won the Nestles Smarties Book Prize Gold Medal 2006, the Blue Peter Book Award 2006 and was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal the same year. The Incredible Book Eating Boy (2007) won the Irish Book Awards Children's Book of the Year, and his fourth Book The Way Back Home was released in September 2007 and The Great Paper Caper will be publlished in September 2008.

Jeffers' style of illustration uses mixed medium and is recognised for its subtle narrative and use of space in composition. As a freelance illustrator he has worked for clients such as Orange UK, Lavazza, Sony PSP, RCA Records, Starbucks, candycollective, Blanka, Graphic, the Vacuum and the Irish Times.

Jeffers' artwork consists of figurative painting executed on either canvas or three dimensional objects, both found and made. His most recent solo show (Additional Information, Belfast December 2006) studied the balance between form and content by drawing parallels between the arts and sciences, in which figurative oil paintings were over laid with mathematical equations.

As a co-founder of the art collective OAR, along with Rory Jeffers, Mac Premo and Duke Riley, their exhibitions include 9 Days in Belfast, book and the award winning BUILDING.

In 2007, Jeffers was the official World Book Day Ilustrator.

Lost and Found became Oliver's first book to made into animation by London based Studio AKA, screening on Christmas Eve 2008 on Channel 4.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet and touching story of an unlikely friendship October 26, 2006

By Emily K. Paster

Format:Hardcover

Lost and Found tells the story of a boy who finds a penguin at his door and sets about returning the penguin, whom the boy assumes is lost, to his home. Along the way, the two become friends and the boy realizes that his goal of returning the penguin to the South Pole may not be the best thing to do after all. My 3 year old daughter quite enjoys this book. There is an anxious moment when the boy can't find the penguin, but by the end, all is well. My daughter likes to talk about how that part of the book is sad, but the end is happy. This is also one of those stories where kids occupy the whole world and no grown-ups are to be found. I think that is part of the appeal for young readers.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and Magical Book! May 22, 2006

By nycman

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Lost and Found will hopefully win many awards for this touching adventure story with themes of Love and Friendship at its core.

A boy befriends a penguin and tries to return him to his home at the South Pole. They bond and enjoy each others' companionship. They never give up on each other, even when they become separated. The boy shows surprising maturity when he realizes he made a mistake leaving the penguin and then goes back to find him. What a great lesson to learn, that it's OK to make a mistake, acknowledge it, then take action to amend it!

This story illustrates that it's the Journey, the trip along the way, not necessarily just the destination that gives life meaning and value. Furthermore, the values of friendship, companionship, and sharing come through strongly in this story.

This book also taps into classic, timeless themes of finding one's way back home, almost like a kid's version of The Odyssey.

The watercolors of the book are spectacular, deep and rich. The drawings have an interesting scale that make the two travelers seem quite heroic.

The final reunitement embrace of boy and penguin will melt your heart. What a touching portrait! I challenge the public to find another embrace that is so simple, so pure, so elegant, so Loving.

This book is a Treasure!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I am in love with this penguin! March 12, 2006

By CherubChub

Format:Hardcover

Oliver Jeffer's second book has become one of my favorite picture books ever. I recommend this for children and adults. This is a story of a boy and the penguin he finds on his doorstep. Assuming he is lost, the boy attempts to return him to the South Pole. After a long and dangerous adventure, the boy realizes that the penguin was not lost-- he was lonely and looking for a friend. Just flip to end of this book and look at the two of them hugging. Its the cutest dang 'ol thing ever.