Review: Oliver Jeffers is a British author and illustrator with a quirky sense of humor.  He has written many children’s books that have become been highly acclaimed by children and parents alike.  What I like most about Lost and Found is powerful moral lesson underlying the story of a lost penguin.

The little boy who finds the penguin goes to great lengths to get him home—and eventually rows him to the South Pole.  But eventually he realizes that the penguin wasn’t lost at all—he was merely lonely—and needed a friend more than a home.

My 3-year old daughter loves the way in which they are reunited at the end of the story.  But I know that in a year or two, we’ll be able to discuss the spiritual dilemma at the heart of the story—that when we stop listening and paying attention we can inflict harm on others.  Had the little boy really paid attention at the outset, he would have seen that the penguin was in need of love.

Recommended for: It is a rare book that entertains and teaches, and that does so for parents and children.  Buy this book!