Lost and Found

   On one of those magical days when I make the time to fully immerse myself in the picture book section at my favorite used book store, I was lucky enough to discover Lost and Found, written and illustrated by Oliver Jeffers.  Walking my fingers across the steps of spines, I spotted a sweet little penguin.  If this darling creature suddenly showed up on my door step, I would take a journey with him too.

 

 

 

The Story

   Perplexed, and most likely wondering who could've planned such an elaborate ding dong ditch, the boy took a liking to this seemingly forlorn little penguin.  He concluded, "it must be lost."  And he sought to help him be found.  After zig-zagging all over town and brainstorming in the bath, the boy learned in a book *grin* "that penguins come from the South Pole."  So, that is where they will go.


Together, the boy decided, he and the penguin would row to the South Pole.

So the boy took out his rowboat and tested it for size and strength.

He told stories to the penguin to help pass the time.

Then they packed everything they would need...and pushed the rowboat out to sea.



   Following fierce battles with storms, a comical boat chase, and a face-to-face with one of his glaring mistakes, the boy and his Antarctican acquaintance find the meaning of great friendship and head home, "talking of wonderful things all the way."  Lost and Found is a whimsical adventure and a perfect lesson in loneliness, geography, first impressions, friendship, and accountability. 



The Storyteller

   Lost and Found is the sequel to How to Catch A Star and the prequel to Up and Down.  Oliver's cool toned watercolors in Lost and Found and clean lines in all three are uncomplicated and pristine.  His illustrations are so pure and yet magnetizing.  Joanna Carey provides the following flawless description of his artistry in this interview for The Guardian:

   In some ways, Jeffers's drawing is childlike - almost schematic - but it is never demeaning or condescending. Together, the plangent simplicity of the drawing and the powerful emotions of the boy make these stories genuinely moving. With a gentle humour and an airy touch, free of extraneous detail, he celebrates the emotional freedom of the child whose imagination is not yet weighed down by the limitations of reality.

   Joanna continues and sheds light on his path to becoming such a celebrated artist and author by stating, "Jeffers was born in Australia in 1977 and brought up in Belfast. He studied visual communication at the University of Ulster, and graduated in 2001. Now living in New York, he works as a painter, designer, printmaker and installation artist, but is currently very busy making picture books. There are numerous other projects, such as the collaborative work he undertook with three other artists in which a sketchbook was sent back and forth between each of their various studios in Belfast and New York. Each artist kept the book for five days, creating a spread that was loosely connected with the previous one: 'It was a bit like a huge game of Chinese whispers.'

   This went on for 36 weeks, during which time the sketchbook travelled 60,000 miles. The result is a fat, crusty, well-thumbed volume bursting with artwork like an enormously rich mille-feuille pastry. You can just imagine Henry, the hero of Jeffers's The Incredible Book Eating Boy (2006), sinking his teeth into it."


   I am completely enamored with his style, his creative mind, and especially his humor as highlighted in this fantastic video below! I echo his feelings, his daily activities, and especially his passion for picture books!

 

   Lost and Found was also made into a short film which was just recently released on iTunes! 

Purchase the movie here and view the trailer below:

Lost and Found received the following awards in the past:

Nestles Smarties Book Prize Gold Medal 2005
Blue Peter Book Award 2006
Shortlisted for Kate Greenaway Medal 2006

And has now earned 4 out of 5 blueberries as our 13th Blueberry Book!

   You can purchase Lost and Found (ages 3-8) and these other great titles by clicking on the captions below!  Educators, click here for lesson plans and here for storytelling and geography classroom activities!

[A little bird told me the UK hardcover version of Jeffers' books come with a very subtle, yet beautiful gold-toned iridescent covers.  Hmmm...sounds lovely.]




Buy it here in the US and here in the UK!

Also look for the Pop-Up book, Drawing and Coloring book, y Perdido y Encontrado!
 




Buy it here in the US and here in the UK!



Buy it here in the US and here in the UK!