Meena Lost and Found

Meena Zee #3

by Karla Manternach, Mina Price (Illustrator)

For graduates of Junie B. Jones, the “genuinely compassionate” ( Kirkus Reviews ) third novel in the Meena Zee series follows lovable Meena as she tries to keep her best friend, Sofí ​ a, from moving away.

Everything is going Meena’s way. Her seizures are under control, she’s started the Finders Keepers Club, and she’s trying hard to be a better friend. So when Sofía’s cat, Oriol, goes missing, Meena is the first to help her look.

But when Meena learns Sofía’s family might be moving far away, everything starts to fall apart. Worst of all, Sofía seems more worried about finding her cat than leaving Meena behind!

With a little help from her trash collection, Meena sets out to locate Oriol and keep Sofía close. But what if being a good friend means losing what she loves most?

Genres: Family, Middle Grade

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 12, 2021

About the author

Karla Manternach grew up in small-town Iowa, a grubby kid in tube socks who once stopped an entire parade by running in front of a fire truck for candy. When she was older, Karla detasseld corn, read Star Trek novels, and studied languages that no one speaks anymore. Today, Karla lives with her family in small-town Wisconsin where she creates books for young readers and works as a freelance writer. She loves infomercials, bad apocalyptic movies, and Raspberry Zingers. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @mskarlam.

Reviews

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Karla Manternach and Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers for sharing this book with the LitReviewCrew in exchange for an honest review. I have not read the other books in the Meena series, but it was really easy to read without having the backstory from the previous books. I will say, I will definitely be reading the earlier books because Meena was so fun! I loved her love of trash and upcycling and how connected she is to everything-I totally related to it. I am a teacher and my classroom has EVERYTHING because you never know when you will need it! Along with the humor and the trash, there are some deep issues such as being a big sister and being a good friend.
3 things I loved about Meena Lost and Found:
1-The need for control-I could feel Meena's anxiety
2-Saving-both her friendship and her things she values
3-Creativity-the things she makes out of trash! So cool.

I hope you grab a copy of Meena!

[Christy Wopat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved the Meena series from the start, but this one is my FAVORITE. It has all the things that make a superb book for young readers— it’s laugh out loud funny, it’s relatable, and it evokes emotions. Oh! And it has LOVELY art work!

Meena herself is so lovable and even more so in this book. The supporting characters bring so much to the story, including Meena’s parents, who I could for sure relate to.

Themes: an adult losing his job, not being able to afford extras
A lost pet
Seizure disorder/meds
Friendship/what makes a good friend

This will make a wonderful read aloud, esp for grades 2 - 4.


Note to teachers: has a part/topic of magic not being real-Meena has a magic garden where she plants like a tiny marshmallow that “magically” grows into a bigger one. Be ready for questioning kids to ask about other parts of magic and if they are real or not.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the author/publisher for this ARC to revirw:

Since I first met third grade Meena on the page, she has had a winning personality despite her health struggles, her emotional blinders, her overactive imagination, and her outsized plans. She is convinced that every single scrap of junk has a purpose, and she is the one to save it and give it a new life.
Now in her third book, as a fourth grader, Meena has her health issues under control, actively attempts to self-regulate and rein in her impulses and urges, and intentionally tries to accept that the perspectives of others, especially her best friend Sofia and her cousin/buddy Eli, may be different from her own. Through it all, Meena's voice and world-view bounce off the page, giving young readers who feel thwarted, victimized, misunderstood, or underrated a seldom-seen soulmate who feels that way, too. Meena's family members hit a just-right balance of humor, likability, and recognizable annoyance.

Meena's "can-do" impulse to fix anything, large or small, hits some major hurdles. Her less-than-flexible mom draws a hard line on the scrap collecting, Sofia's lost cat does not cooperate with Meena's efforts to find her to prove what a great friend she is, her month-long April fool's prank with little sister Rosie leaves Meena debating if it is funny or mean, and her big plans for re-purposing lunchroom garbage containers raises a stink. All of these (and more) weave a lively background to the biggest issue of all- Sofia's family will be moving all the way to California. Throughout it all, Meena wears her heart on her sleeve and carries readers along through her worries, laughs, tears, creativity, and growth.
No one ever said that growing up would be easy, but Meena sure makes it interesting. I was rooting for her every step and stumble along the way.

[Elizabeth James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have loved reading about spunky Meena in the previous books of this series. Despite that, she tackles some difficult issues, including a friend moving away, a lost pet/a pet that's died, as well as learning to let go of "things" (even verging on hoarding). I loved how the author treated and resolved the hoarding aspect--it was well done and tied in well with her best friend moving. This book (unlike the first) didn't really delve into her epilepsy like the first book did. That's not a bad thing, I just kept wondering if something would happen regarding that. I thought it was a fun read and would definitely provide for some thought-provoking discussion with young readers, especially in light of letting go of things or people or pets.

[Valerie Biel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Number three for Meena Zee!! Manternach continues with the escapades of Meena, a colorful, lovable girl with some quirky habits (which most of the adults in her life don’t appreciate as much as she does.) This multi-layered character (who in past books deals with an epilepsy diagnosis and friendship ups and downs) is now working so hard to be a good friend. But change is coming, and we don’t know if Meena will get the happy ending she desperately wants. The author skillfully takes us on Meena’s emotional journey--so well so--that at one point I was wiping away tears. Witty dialogue, fun settings & situations, and realistic, relatable characters make this series a winner for readers of all ages.

[Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early chapter books that geared for 2nd-3rd graders are usually a bit torturous for me to read because of the silly humor or predictable and solvable mystery, but they are not for adults. Manternach in her Meena series has been able to write a very relatable and believable characters for those 8-10 years old dealing with every day things. In this third installment Meena is struggling with her mother throwing out her stuff (broken chairs, doll heads, unrinsed out milk jugs) that she needs for her projects and with her best friends impending move to California. Meena wrestles with her self absorbed feelings of abandonment and wanting Sophia to be happy. A perfect contemporary fiction book for young readers who like a little more believability in their stories.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meena Zee is back in Meena Lost and Found, and this time the story focuses on her efforts to be a good friend to Sofia as Sofia deals with a missing cat and an impending move. Meena also plays pranks with her family, and learns to let go of accumulated unneeded possessions. She's still an imaginative, three-dimensional character, but the plot felt kind of slow here. There are also barely any mentions of her epilepsy this time--while it's good to show that Meena's whole life doesn't have to revolve around the condition and she can still get up to adventures like any other kid, the epilepsy rep was what really made this series stand out from the many other chapter books about spunky contemporary elementary-age girls.

Looks like there will be one more book in the series.

[Jennifer Guyor Jowett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very grateful to Karla Manternach and Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers for sharing Meena Lost and Found with BookSojourn. I easily fell into Meena's world. Her struggle to be a good friend is a deep lesson for all readers. I worried for her when she worried about losing that friend and empathized with her need to hold onto everything, in case it might be useful one day. There's a wealth of discussion material here: how to make space, learn to let go, be kind, and care for our possessions and the earth.

[Kirstin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meena faces some tough things but her color shows her through. It was cute and the tough topic of types of loss, friend moving away and pet loss are approached well