Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Lost and Found” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Lost and Found

(The Boy #2)

Oliver Jeffers (Goodreads Author)

4.35 · Rating details · 8,574 ratings · 718 reviews

New cover reissue of this magical story from award-winning international bestselling picture book creator, Oliver Jeffers

There once was a boy… and one day a penguin arrives on his doorstep. The boy decides the penguin must be lost and tries to return him. But no one seems to be missing a penguin. So the boy decides to take the penguin home himself, and they set out in his ...more

Get A Copy

Paperback, 32 pages

Published February 26th 2015 by HarperCollinsChildren’sBooks (first published 2004)

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Lost and Found, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 4.35 ·

Rating details

· 8,574 ratings · 718 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of Lost and Found

Feb 09, 2017 Pooja rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: children

I am up and about for all the penguin stories.

This book was super cute. A sad penguin and a little boy. Wow! I'm reading more from this series. Oh Yes! ...more

flag 20 likes · Like · see review

Sep 25, 2012 Lisa (not getting friends updates) Vegan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens, fiction, readbooks-male-author-or-illust, picture-books, z2012, goodreads-author, zz-4star, reviewed

The penguin is so adorable and the illustrations (which at first didn’t appeal to me all that much, except for the penguin) grew on me. I especially liked the wild sea picture with the huge wave and the lightning, and the whimsical one when first seeing the South Pole.

The story is a cute one about friendship, and the reader/listener will learn a little bit about real penguins too, even though the story itself is a fantasy. I love how concerned the boy is for the penguin’s welfare and does the r ...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Mar 20, 2016 Gerry rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I just can't resist a book with a penguin in it. And thank goodness I didn't resist this one. It is super.

It is a simple story about a boy and a penguin but the feelings it arouses are many; there is pathos aplenty, a fear of being alone, wonderment, disappointment, determination and above all happiness and friendship.

The boy in the story, unnamed, finds a penguin on his doorstep and wonders where he comes from. The penguin, meanwhile, stands there looking all very sad. The boy thinks the pengui I just can't resist a book with a penguin in it. And thank goodness I didn't resist this one. It is super.

It is a simple story about a boy and a penguin but the feelings it arouses are many; there is pathos aplenty, a fear of being alone, wonderment, disappointment, determination and above all happiness and friendship.

The boy in the story, unnamed, finds a penguin on his doorstep and wonders where he comes from. The penguin, meanwhile, stands there looking all very sad. The boy thinks the penguin must be lost so he visits the Lost and Found Office but meets with no joy. He even tries asking the birds if they know anything about the penguin, but, perhaps not surprisingly, they ignore his question. The boy also asks his pet toy duck when he gets in the bath that night but the duck, too, doesn't respond and simply floats away.

When he goest to bed the boy frets because he wants to help the penguin but he doesn't know how to do so. The next morning he is determined and he finds out that penguins are from the South Pole. He wonders how to get there and return the penguin to his surroundings. In an effort to do so
he goes down to the harbour and asks a big ship to take them to the South Pole but the ship is about to depart and does not hear the boy over the sound of the ship's horn.

So the boy decides that he and the penguin will row to the South Pole. He takes his rowing boat out of the cupboard, tests it for size and strength and packs everything that the pair will need for the journey. Then together they push the rowing boat out to sea (and one of the most gorgeous and touching illustrations in the book is of the two of them doing so).

They row south and to keep the penguin's spirits up the boy tells stories all the time. They battle on through good and bad weather and eventually reach the South Pole where there is a sign 'Welcome to the South Pole'! The boy is delighted but the penguin, who had been happy throughout the journey suddenly becomes sad again as the boy helps him out of the boat.

Once the penguin is on terra firma, complete with the boy's umbrella, the boy rows away but he looks back and notices that the penguin looks sadder than ever. He feels strange to be on his own and the more he thinks about it the more he realises that he is making a big mistake and that the penguin is not lost, he is simply lonely.

The boy makes a decision and turns round and rows back towards the South Pole but when he gets there the penguin is nowhere in sight, even as he looks around the landscape with his telescope. Eventually he has to give up and starts rowing home, sad but unable to communicate his feelings to anyone for there is only the sound of the wind and the waves.

Then suddenly he espies something in the distance and as he gets closer he realises that it is the penguin who is rowing away in his umbrella! He is so thrilled that when he reaches the penguin the pair embrace and realise that they are friends forever.

A great little story, beautifully illustrated. ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Mar 10, 2007 Sam rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: people who need someone

Someone will come and get you when you need them most.

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Nov 04, 2019 Abigail rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Readers Looking for Children's Stories About Friendship

Shelves: picture-books

"Once there was a boy who found a penguin at his door..." So begins this sweet, heartwarming tale, the second of four to feature the aforementioned boy and his adventures. Determining that his penguin visitor is lost, the boy sets out to return him to his home in the South Pole. After a long voyage, one featuring plenty of stories and good fellowship, the two arrive at their destination. But although he has reached his goal, the boy isn't happy...

Like its predecessor, How to Catch a Star , Lo ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 16, 2018 Felicity Gibson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: picture-books

This book conveys the importance of friendship, through exploring the themes of sympathy, loneliness and teamwork. It is ideal for reading aloud to children in Key Stage One and can be used as the starting point to a discussion about friendship.

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jun 24, 2020 Fatima Alqassab rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: children, 2020

Cute and heartwarming story as expected from Oliver Jeffer.

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Oct 06, 2011 Ann Marron rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Lost and Found is a fantastic picture book written by Oliver Jeffers. It won Blue Peter Book of the Year in 2006, which immediately indicates its appeal to children. It tells the story of a little boy who one day finds a penguin and doesn't know where it came from. The penguin follows him around everywhere and determined to help him, the little boy finds out that the penguin lives in the South Pole and sets off in his rowing boat to leave him home. When they reach the South Pole, the little boy ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 04, 2013 Mochizuki rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kids-and-teens-fantasy, bedtime

This is the sweetest book. I would say this is a perfect book with many good lessons about friendship for young children. I also think this is a great books for anyone (teens, young adults and older). It has lovely illustrations. A true delight.

The premise is that a boy opens his door to find a penguin. He works to find out whether the penguin is lost, and to where should he be returned. Ultimately boy and penguin travel to the South pole. Boy leaves penguin on ice floe only to realize that the ...more

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 24, 2013 midnightfaerie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens

Oliver Jeffers is quickly becoming a household favorite. His unusual story lines and his compelling illustrations make him so much fun to read! Not a lot of words, but still memorable enough to keep my children, both the 5 yr old and the preschoolers, asking for him over and over again. Love this author and am looking forward to reading more of his work.

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 21, 2009 Kathryn rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 STARS The penguin is so cute! A nice story about friendship.

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Feb 24, 2018 Rachel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: animals, companionship, educational, loneliness, looking-out-for-one-another, penguins, humerous, adventure

I really liked this book. I first thought was going to be about a boy who had lost his penguin and was going on an adventure to find him however it contains a far deeper message – a message on companionship. It depicts a boy attempting to help a penguin, who turned up at his door one day, who he realises is sad and thinks this is due to him being lost. So, they boy goes on a journey to help the penguin find its way home. He goes to a number of places to find the penguins home to no avail. Sudden I really liked this book. I first thought was going to be about a boy who had lost his penguin and was going on an adventure to find him however it contains a far deeper message – a message on companionship. It depicts a boy attempting to help a penguin, who turned up at his door one day, who he realises is sad and thinks this is due to him being lost. So, they boy goes on a journey to help the penguin find its way home. He goes to a number of places to find the penguins home to no avail. Suddenly he realises penguins come from the South Pole so he continues his journey there. After leaving the penguin at the South Pole, who is still sad, the boy suddenly realises the penguin was not lost he was just lonely. This message is key to young readers, a message on companionship and that sometimes all someone needs is a bit of company or a friend to play with.
The illustrations in this book are all bright and draw the eye. The front cover depicts a penguin and a boy standing in a rowing boat. The boy is depicted as slightly higher than the penguin portraying that maybe he has more power and status than the penguin. Neither character is looking directly at the reader however due to the single page bleed this still allows readers to feel that they are included in this story and going on the adventure with the characters. The boy is looking to the right, suggesting he is going on an adventure, whereas the penguin is looking to the left which could suggest he does not want to go on an adventure and that he has further motives than simply going on an adventure. A message that is later explored in the book. The boat is situated in the middle of the page which draws the eye and is what readers first look at. In the background a horizon is seen which could suggest adventure and creativity.
One of the single spread pages in the book, p.23, adds a bit of humour to the story. It depicts an iceberg in the middle of the page, so what draws the eye, with the boy rowing in his row boat on the recto side of the iceberg and the penguin paddling in an umbrella on the verso hand side of the iceberg. This adds humour due to the boy attempting to row to the penguin and the penguin paddling to find the boy however due to the iceberg both are going in opposite directions. This is a single page bleed with the reader looking down on the characters which could suggest a lack of power for both characters or that they are weakened in some sense. The cool blue background portrays the coolness of the water and the differing shades depicts depth and realism. The text is written in black font situated at the top of the page, which is both easy to see and read.
...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 10, 2019 Katie Mote rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: picture-books

This is a lovely picture book, for young children. Although like with a lot of picture books, all children are able to enjoy it. It's about a little boy who finds a penguin at his door and realises the penguin is sad. He wants to make the penguin happy and so finds out where penguins come from and travels to the south pole to take penguin back home. As they reach the south pole it's clear that the penguin isn't lost, he's just lonely. And so the little boy brings him back home with him. The book ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 16, 2018 Victoria Bailey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: friendship, journey, helping-others, sea

A beautiful book that tells the story of the adventures of a young boy who wakes up to find a penguin on his doorstep.
Before reading this story, I had seen the movie adaptation of it with my boyfriend's niece, who absolutely loves it and was excited to show me. Upon reading the book, I found myself moved once more by the enriched values of friendship that are portrayed through the story and beautiful illustrations. This book left me feeling uplifted and would definitely recommend! ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 09, 2017 Jacob Michael rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I love this book. I help pingu find his home. Pingu sits in an umbella and we come back home. Thank you piya and gofs for this book.
~Jacob@1y10mo

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 11, 2020 Nhi Nguyễn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, children-themed, beautiful-cover, borrowed, read-in-english, picture-books

Can Oliver Jeffers ever write anything that is bad? I guess never! The author delivers another beautiful story, perfect for not only kids but also adults. I love the message in this book so much!!!! Some people are not lost; they are just lonely. What a wholesome book. And the teal color of the cover is growing on me, yessss :))))

flag 3 likes · Like · see review

Apr 07, 2018 Soumya rated it really liked it

3.5 stars.

One word about this book - awww!

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 20, 2018 Kirsty rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, borrowed, january-2018

A lot of grown ups that I know really enjoy Oliver Jeffers' work. I've read a couple of books which include his illustrations in the past, but this was the first taste I had of his solo work. The story in Lost and Found is really sweet, and it has a lovely message at its core. As I expected, the illustrations are the real triumph here; it is a sheer joy to look at. ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

May 17, 2020 Rasha Zayed rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Penguin wasn't lost he was just lonely ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 03, 2017 Dipali rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: for-my-future-kids

Oliver Jeffers never fails to impress. This is such a poignant tale about a boy and a penguin who find each other and forge a friendship.

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 25, 2012 Saffron rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: children-s-books

This is a lovely book about friendship. One day, a little boy finds a penguin on his doorstep. Presuming the penguin is lost, he decides to help the penguin return to the south pole. They set off in a rowing boat and the boy tells the penguin lots of stories on the way. Once arrived at the south pole, the boy sets off for home alone, but both he and the penguin are sad. Eventually the boy realises that the penguin hadn't been lost, but had simply wanted a friend and they are reunited.

The text i ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 14, 2020 Ty Deedigan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: picture-books

Lost and Found is a charming tale told by Oliver Jeffers depicting the story of a little boy who cannot figure out where this penguin came from and why he doesn’t want to be in the South pole.

This book is perfect for younger readers, to introduce them to the concept of simple punctuation, grammar and increasing their ability to retell a story; with the use of cartoon style pictures encouraging them to read on. Children will not be able to stop reading as the story progresses with different twis ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 27, 2011 Sam Grace rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: ppl looking for read-aloud books, books about friendship and child adventure

Recommended to Sam by: Revolutionary Grounds

Shelves: pretty-pictures, in-spanish, books-about-boys

A solid, simple, visually awesome and extremely well-written read aloud book. This is my second Jeffers book (the other is in Spanish too) and he really has a distinctive voice, one which is perfectly suited for kids and adults. For example, when the boy is trying to find out about where the penguin is from, he goes and asks the bird in the trees for help and they don't answer. "Some birds are like that," the text says. It is one I can easily imagine reading over and over (it has great pacing to ...more

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Sep 20, 2017 Sarah Coles rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: eyfs, friendship, animals, ks1, adventure

A beautifully illustrated picture book - a must have for EYFS and KS1!

flag 2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 10, 2021 Frances Coe rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: animals-and-pets, picture-books-teaching, childrens-reading-books-ks1, general-childrens, exclusion-inclusion, friendship, childrens-fears-worries-anxiety

Read this to year 2 and 3 mixed class today. Allowed one child to choose a book from the shelf and this is what they selected. Many children called out that they had read this before but quickly came together on the carpet so we could read as a cosy little group. It was nice that they were familiar with it, as they pointed out sweet little details from within the illustrations to me. The tale is of a penguin you turns up on a boys doorstep. The boy thinks he must need help getting home to the So ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Mar 14, 2019 Francesca Lee rated it liked it · review of another edition

I borrowed this book on placement to read. It is about a penguin that arrives at a boys house. The boy thinks he is lost so he tries to help the penguin back home. The boy rows the penguin back to the south pole but when the boy leaves the penguin there he looks sad. The boy realises that the penguin wasn't lost, just lonely. So he rows back to find him but he is gone. Soon he finds the penguin bobbing on an umbrella in the sea and picks him up in the rowing boat. They both look happy.

This book ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Oct 15, 2020 Jaimie Morris rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: picture-books

This is a wonderful story about friendship. It is beautifully illustrated and has a few simple words per page. There was a boy and one day he found a penguin at his door. He thinks the penguin must be lost and so he tries to return him but where do you return a penguin too? A great book to share with a class.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Nov 08, 2020 Lauren Drake rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: picture-books

Lovely story about friendship and feeling lonely. The story was simple and flowed well and the illustrations were beautiful. I think children in the early years and ks1 would really enjoy this book and think that it would be a good basis for a discussion about friendship - maybe in a PSHCE lesson or just a general discussion when reading-aloud.
Another great book by Jeffers!

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Jun 13, 2019 Megan Ledbetter added it · review of another edition

The story of lost penguin can demonstrate a clear message to children in regards to friendship. The young boy tries his best to help the penguin find his 'home'. They looked in many places and discovered he was from the south pole, so the young boy was determined to get him home. This could be used in the classroom as a comparison to the film version of the story, this would get the children thinking about the media features. Discussing how the lost penguin was feeling would be a beneficial acti ...more

flag 1 like · Like · see review

Aug 08, 2020 Ella rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, imagination, friends, feelings, ks1, picture-books, fs, animals

Lost and found is a simplistic but effective story about friendship and feeling lonely. The books allows lots of opportunities for discussion and prediction and would be good read aloud to FS or KS1 children. As well as simply being a lovely read aloud story, the book could be used to support a PSHE topic or used alongside looking at habitats.

flag 1 like · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
2019 Roe Reading ...: Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers	2	2	Apr 01, 2020 09:46AM
2018 Roe Reading ...: Lost and Found	2	6	Sep 28, 2019 02:20PM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Childrens > Picture Books

669 users

Childrens

148 users

Animals

86 users

Fiction

58 users

Adventure

43 users

Childrens > Storytime

37 users

Travel

13 users

Animals > Birds

12 users

Fantasy

12 users

Science > Geography

10 users

See top shelves…

About Oliver Jeffers

Oliver Jeffers

1,968 followers

Oliver Jeffers' work takes many forms. His distinctive paintings have been exhibited in galleries worldwide, and HarperCollins UK and Penguin USA publish his award-winning picture books, now translated into over 30 languages.

In 2007, Jeffers was the official illustrator for World Book Day, and in 2008 Lost and Found became Oliver's first book to made into animation by London-based Studio AKA.

Jeffe ...more