Lost Things

Starred review from November 1, 2021
“Sometimes things are lost,” this optimistic picture book’s text opens, accompanied by an image of a brown-skinned child’s dog bolting to chase a squirrel. But as the book progresses, it becomes clear that this is as much a tale of finding things as it is of losing them. In uncluttered scenes that employ a limited palette, visuals lead the reader on a believable series of domino-effect lost-and-found events unleashed by the canine’s disappearance (the dog’s person loses a ribbon that’s plucked up by a bird, which is seen by a light-skinned child who drops their stuffie) until at last the story comes full circle. In clean pencil drawings and cool-toned acrylic gouache, Sookocheff thoughtfully explores the often invisible ways that communities can be linked—even the end pages emphasize interconnection with an aerial view of a cheerful park and its intersecting paths. Ages 3–6.

Starred review from September 1, 2021
A meditative look on what it means to be lost...and found. Beginning with a squirrel losing an acorn as it is chased by a dog that broke free from its owner's grasp, this spare story follows various items as they are accidentally left behind. The person who is chasing after the dog loses a hair ribbon--a bright spot of orange on a winding, white path. A bird picks it up and adds it to a nest--and when a young tot watches the bird in fascination, a teddy bear is unintentionally dropped. Each item's individual moment tumbles into the next, gently nudging the story forward. Sookocheff's clean lines and minimalist illustrations invite readers to lean in, follow each item's journey, and observe the community's interactions. Sometimes the lost items are repurposed; sometimes they find their way back home; and sometimes, as Sookocheff sagely advises, "lost things are found / by the people who need them the most." Readers will be first relieved to see dog and owner reunited, then amused to see the squirrel rediscovering its acorn. Upcoming characters are hinted at in the background and are then seen in other illustrations afterward. Everyone and everything is intertwined, underscoring the book's subtle message that we are all important to one another's story. Humans depicted are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A quiet, wondrous discovery. (Picture book. 4-7)

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