Lost and Found: A Sweet Picture Book About Woodland Animals and Love for Children

by Kate Banks, Galia Bernstein (Illustrator)

A story of woodland creatures discovering a lost doll is transformed into the perfect parable of love in this sweet, timeless picture book for fans of Corduroy and The Velveteen Rabbit.

The wood mouse and the rabbit find a rag doll in the woods. Nothing about it is it doesn't smell like the fresh air of spring or feel like the rough bark of a tree. As the group of animals grows and searches for a clue to where the doll came from, they encounter more mysteries—and discover the one thing their hearts know to be true.

Whether between parent and child, siblings, or friends, this beautifully illustrated story is about the way we show one other how much we care.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Rabbits, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

Published February 22, 2022

About the author

Kate Banks has written many books for children, among them Max’s Words, And If the Moon Could Talk, winner of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, and The Night Worker, winner of the Charlotte Zolotow Award. She grew up in Maine, where she and her two sisters and brother spent a lot of time outdoors, and where Banks developed an early love of reading. “I especially liked picture books,” she says, “and the way in which words and illustrations could create a whole new world in which sometimes real and other times magical and unexpected things could happen.” Banks attended Wellesley College and received her masters in history at Columbia University. She lived in Rome for eight years but now lives in the South of France with her husband and two sons, Peter Anton and Maximilian.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/katebanks

Reviews

[Raven Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

This adorable story shows how love comes in many forms. And you might be an otter who has never seen a swing, or a deer who has never seen a toy/doll, but you know what kindness, family and love is just by seeing it, not matter how it is presented. Sweet, bright and fun illustrations compliment this great bedtime, or anytime, read. All ages can appreciate this story.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The five senses are seamlessly woven into this sweet story of a group of forest animals trying to figure out what sort of a creature a rag doll was. Lovely, adorable illustrations.

[Y.Poston]

a delightful exploration of identifying love

[Melisande · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://accrocdeslivres.blogspot.com/...

[Baby Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!

Hello, friends! Our book today is Lost and Found by Kate Banks and Galia Bernstein, a lovely forest fairytale of discovery and love.

One day, as wood mouse and rabbit are playing in the woods, they come upon an unusual object: a rag doll. They marvel over the unknown thing as more of their woodland pals approach and offer their own impressions. While the friends are all familiar with the sights, sounds, and scents of their forest home, everything about the rag doll is curious and new. Determined to discover the doll’s origin, they follow the small footprints out of the trees and on an adventure of exploration and emotion.

Warm and sweet. After crossing an unfamiliar stretch of gray (a road) and finding a very unique-looking den (a house), the animals complete their quest to return the doll to its home fairly quickly. This leads to a final “twist” in the story – one that emphasizes the idea that while details and environments may be unfamiliar, the feeling of love and care is universal – all the more unexpected and satisfying. Banks’s text is lovely to read aloud, managing to bring a lot of character to the collection of forest friends, something expanded on even further with Bernstein’s gorgeous illustrations. Each animal character feels fully-fleshed out and immensely endearing, adding to the emotional punch of the penultimate page. The length is great for a storytime, and JJ really enjoyed this sweet and simple tale of love. A lovely story and well worth the read – Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!

[Stéphanie S. (stephsimlibrarian) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Au cœur de la forêt, une bande d’animaux découvrent un étrange objet qui pique leur curiosité, une poupée de chiffon. Ils n’en ont jamais vu et ne sont jamais sortis de la forêt. Ils se questionnent alors et tentent de comprendre ce qu’est cet objet, en faisant des rapprochements avec leur quotidien et ce qu’ils connaissent. Leur recherche les amènera à suivre une piste et à explorer de nouveaux lieux.

Une histoire tendre sur la nature, la découverte, l’émerveillement, l’amitié et l’amour.

Le texte empreint de poésie est magnifiquement accompagné par de douces illustrations.

Un album qui nous sensibilise aussi aux ressentis et au bien-être de tout être vivant. Parce que malgré nos différences, s’il y a bien une chose qui nous unifie, c’est l’amour.

Un beau coup de cœur.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mouse and a rabbit come across a rag doll in the woods-- they've never seen an object like it before. Neither has the otter, the deer, or any of their other forest friends. When they work together to find the doll's origins, they recognize the universal emotion of love that the doll brings to its child. Lost and Found is an adorable woodland story of kindness and curiosity. Fans of classics like The Velveteen Rabbit are sure to enjoy this book!

[AMY · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty book. It is an interesting view of a lost item left behind in the woods. A group of animals attempts to find out what the item is and where it belongs. They work together and inspect the item. The illustrations are very interesting and engaging. I loved the final scenes with the animals watching from outside a window. The message is very positive and kids will enjoy sharing this one with their parents at bedtime, for sure. Highly recommended for Grades K-2.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet story about animals finding a ragdoll in the forest and returning it to the young girl who owns it. None of them know what the strange creature is but beaver recognizes the footprints near it. They follow them and see the child at her home. They leave the doll and sneak back the next morning to see the young girl snuggling with and reading to her doll. They may not have recognized the doll but they all understand love. Terrific family read together.

[Tina Hoggatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A child leaves her rag doll in the woods after an outing. One by one, woodland animals bring what they know to the task of identifying this object and follow footprints to a house where a little girl lives. A loving story sure to comfort and reassure a child of love and the caring of community.
Lovely illustrations by Galia Bernstein.

[H · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bunch of woodland critters encounter an object they had never seen before. They set off on a quest to follow mysterious footprints. Maybe they will lead them to the answer of this object. What do they find? Find out when you read the book. Warning: you just might get the warm fuzzies.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written story in lyrical prose that celebrates the strong bond of love.

Animals in the woods find a lost doll, and while they try to find out what it is, they discover who it belongs to.

[Sophie Turner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hot Take: Lost and Found by Kate Banks is too high-concept and overly wordy. It borrows heavily from its predecessors without adding anything new—and doesn’t execute their ideas nearly as well. In a world with more great books than anyone could ever read, I wouldn't bother with this one.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an eARC courtesy of Clarion Books via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Woodland animals find the owner of a lost doll.

[Erin_boberin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a sweet book about how these little forest animals didn’t recognize many things in the book, but they recognized love.

[Kelly Veatch · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a very sweet, sweet story!

[Bry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so cute! I loved it

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely, sweet story

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Banks Vault #16
Neat little anthropomorphic tale about things lost and things found.
A decent yarn.

[Eggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable illustrations of woodland creatures.

[Kristin Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely little book with warm illustrations and a sweet storyline, in which the animals learn a little something about humans. The 3s and 4s liked it.

[Ashley Moser · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh… liked the pictures.

[Jessica Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only were the illustrations lovely and sweet, the story was as well. Great for a calming read or bedtime book. Definitely one I've added to my bookshelf.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Chantal HK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une belle histoire toute douce avec des images mignonnes à croquer. Les animaux trouvent une poupée de chiffon, il ne savent pas ce que c'est, ni les choses qu'ils découvrent en suivant les traces, mais au bout du chemin, il reconnaissent quelque chose d'universel, l'amour que porte la fillette à sa poupée retrouvée.
Mignon tout plein, parfait comme histoire pré-dodo!

[Hayley Chow · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kindergartner picks out 3-5 books to read to me a week as part of his advanced reading program. Most of them just kind of blur together, but this one stood out with whimsical writing that a child can still read, simplistic yet beautiful illustrations, and a really sweet, timeless message. It was totally a joy to hear him read this one, and I’d definitely recommend!

[Marie-Pier Dodier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beaucoup de choses inconnues par les animaux (odeur, texture, bruit de la poupée, etc.), mais ce qui unit la poupée et la petite fille, ils le reconnaissent, c'est de l'amour.