Arthur Lost and Found

Arthur Adventure Series

by Marc Brown

When Arthur and Buster take the bus downtown together for the first time, they fall asleep, miss their stop, and wind up on the other side of town. Will Arthur and Buster be able to put their heads together and find their way home? Full-color illustrations.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, 2nd Grade, School, Adventure

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1998

About the author

Marc Tolon Brown is perhaps best known for his series of children's books about Arthur the aardvark, which was turned into an animated television show on PBS. Brown is a three-time Emmy Award winner, for his role on the television show inspired by his books.

He lives on Martha's Vineyard and in New York City with his wife, Laurie Krasny Brown. He has three children, sons Tolon and Tucker, and daughter Eliza. The names of his two sons have been hidden in all of the Arthur books except for one: Arthur's Tooth.

Reviews

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

We really enjoy the Arthur books but this one I really enjoyed due to the content that Mr Brown wrote about. Arthur and Buster go on a public bus for the first time alone. They fall asleep and miss their spot to get off; although they are scared they do figure out what they needed to do and they find help. WONDERFUL lesson for children! Without scaring children either. High Five Mr. Brown for writing this as well as you did.

[MaKayla Holopirek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arthur and Buster got on the city bus for swimming lessons. They soon realized they missed their stop and we're lost. This book demonstrates that when children are lost "ask for help". When I was little I used to watch the show Arthur everyday when I came home from school. This book is special to me because my second grade teacher gave it to me for my birthday. I would like to give my students a book for their birthday also. It would be great tradition.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love anything Arthur. I collect all the original books and I've been slowly trying to acquire all the easy readers and easy chapter books. This one is particularly good and deals with growing up and gaining independence, while also addressing fear and resourcefulness.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arthur was supposed to go to his swim lesson, but he fell asleep on the bus! Will he and Buster ever find their way home? This book is a great way to teach children how to seek out help when they get lost.

[Terrence W McGuffage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool but short

It could be longer but it was entertaining
U should rEad this book it was cool
My name is bob

[Grace Herbst · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a little different than the television show, but I still liked it.

[Kit Donner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good handling of a difficult, scary topic

This book handles a difficult topic very well. Almost every child fears getting lost at some time. Almost every parent worries about a child getting lost at some point. Some parents will probably be afraid that this book will be too scary for their children, and this is a reasonable concern. But it is better to talk with a parent about a scary topic that worries your children than to make your children face the scary parts of life totally unprepared because you are too much of a coward to talk with your children in a reassuring but realistic and helpful manner. Before your young or timid child reads this book, read it yourself. Think about what you would want your children to do if any of them were in a situation like the one that Arthur and Buster were in. If you do not know what children should do in your town or city or rural area, talk to some adults that you trust to get ideas and recommendations. These will vary with the age of the children, where you live, and some other things, but almost always the first thing to do is DO NOT PANIC! Take a moment to make sure that you are calm. If you are in a safe enough spot, take a few minutes to make a quick plan.

If you are not in a good place to stop and plan right now, like you are half way across a busy street, or walking carefully over a slippery spot in a trail in the woods, get to the nearest safe enough place to stop.

Once you are in a safe enough stopping place, if you cannot think of a good way to try to get home, stay where you are and let someone like your parent come and find you. Even competent adults who need to be rescued for some reason are more likely to be rescued if they stay where they are under most circumstances, although there are obviously exceptions to this.

Arthur and Buster did stay in the store by the bus stop for a while to figure out what to do next. That way, it was easy for them to go back to the bus stop to try to ride the bus back home. Now But both boys took time to think and talk about what to do before they did it.

So this is a good book to use to start having a talk with your children about what they need to know if they are worried about getting lost.

[Nichole · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the classic style Arthur book where Brown's storytelling is best. Arthur and Buster get lost riding the bus and Arthur finds a way to get back to his family. The characters have all their quirks (D.W. annoys but loves Arthur, Buster has conspiracy theories, Francine teases the worst will happen). I much prefer this style to the D.W. books or the easy reader. This is what I grew up loving.

[Khloe Howie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is about taking on more responsibility as you get older. When you try new things like Arthur who rode the bus without his parents for the first time you end up learning a lot about yourself. Buster was riding with Arthur but they still ended up missing their main destination. Decisions had to be made and problems had to be solved. In the end the two friends were able to make it home with some help from his community!

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arthur and Buster take the bus for the first time to Arthur's swimming lesson - and never get there.

A realistic look at what it means to be responsible for yourself, and to make the right decisions (think ahead a little? Plan?). When Arthur and Buster get into trouble they do what any kids would - initially - making the situation worse. They do come around to a really good idea though in the end so it all works out. A very smart book about taking the bus and getting where you want to go.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arthur and Buster were nervous about their first bus ride on the city bus. They fell asleep and missed their stop. They spent all of their money on snacks and couldn't buy a ride back to where they could find their way home. Instead of panicking, they talked to the bus driver and he gave them a ride home.

[Jeremiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, Arthur gets Buster to join him on a bus ride downtown by saying, “We can study for our science test on the bus, then you can watch me take a swim lesson.”

Why would Buster want to do either of those things? Why does he join Arthur?

That plot hole aside, I enjoyed the book for how unpleasant the bus ride was, but wish the story leaned more into Adventures in Babysitting. My son liked it.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Autonomy! Using your resources! Solving your problems! Learning from mistakes! Pressure under crisis! Talking to safe adults!

Once upon a time I would have thought "Meh, this book is fine." Now that we live in the world we do, where kids are over sheltered, I now see we NEED messages like these for kids. ♥️

[The Story Girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be about a lost and found, but it was about Arthur getting lost after missing his bus stop. Cute.

(Okay, should be only two more of these and then I'll stop clogging up everyone's feeds! Sorry!)

[Nicki Mech · Rating 5 out of 5]

Positive out of a bad situation

The story entertained my three year old grandson. I like how the getting lost said they were scared but didn't dwell on that fact. The adults helping were reassuring.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Arthur and his friend Buster miss their stop and become lost when they take the public bus to Arthur’s swimming lesson.

This is a story modern audiences will not understand because Arthur’s predicament would have been easily solved with a cell phone and a map app.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet book

A sweet and enjoyable Arthur book. My kids and I especially enjoy the end with the exchange between Arthur and D.W.

[Lulu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story for kids to learn

It is a good realistic story for your children because sometimes we need to have our kids prepare for anything.

[Kathleen Foley]

Good resource for teaching younger children about staying safe while developing independence (and the importance of memorizing their phone number and address).

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for kids about what they can do if they get lost.

[Damien Opara]

Authur

[Nat Real · Rating 4 out of 5]

D.W. is the type of sibling that loves & cares about her brother but says it in a roundabout way 😂

[Miakoda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one. Was fun to read this with my son for bedtime.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, friends don't get any better than ol Buster Baxter. He's Arthur's road dawg (well, road bunny) and this story has a lot of positive messages (as do most of Marc Brown's stories). First of all, don't fall asleep on a bus and wake up in another part of town that ain't your neck of the woods. Second, if you do, bring a good pal like Buster. Third, don't spend all of your money on chocolate winkies. You might need that loot at some point down the road. And last, be brave and problem solve. Some situations in life can seem a little overwhelming, but if you stay calm, cool, and collect, the bus will get you back home.

[April Helms · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arthur, of the popular cartoon, and his friend Buster get lost while taking a bus by themselves to get to Arthur’s swim practice. It illustrates what children should do if they get lost (find a trusted adult such as a police officer, try to call home, etc.) A good teaching too parents and teachers can use in their class, since most children are familiar with Arthur (this was another of my cousin’s picks – she’s a fan of the series and books)

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book Arthur and Buster had to use the big bus to go to Arthur's swim lessons. They fell asleep and missed their stop, so they were lost. They didn't panick. They went to the bus stop and talked to the driver. He completely understood and took them home. This book shows children what they should do if they were ever to get lost. They should call their parents. If they cannot call, they should ask someone else for help.

[Ashley Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would use this book to talk to students about what they should do when they are seperated from their parents. I would talk to them about adults in the city who are safe to go to for help. I would also give this book to a student who is between picture books and chapter books.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a huge fan of the television series, I was greatly disappointed at the lazy and sub-par writing of the books. The illustrations are very poorly done as well (especially if you have older editions of the books). Not good. just watch the show; it's on at seven on PBS every morning.

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arthur and Buster need to take the bus after school, so they can go to swimming classes. However, both fall asleep and wake up at the end of the ride. They get scared, but after some snacks, they ask another bus driver to take them home. Finally, they get home safe and sound.

[Denise Weldon-siviy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute

This is a cute story about little boys learning how to ride the city bus. The pay phone that might be a little confusing; I can't recall seeing one in the last five or six years.