If You Get Lost

by Nikki Loftin (Author) Deborah Marcero (Illustrator)

Reading Level: K − 1st Grade

In this gentle read-aloud--a modern day Velveteen Rabbit--a stuffed bunny comes to life after getting lost on a family's camping trip, then finds its way back to its child.

"If you get lost, and you might get lost...." In simple language that speaks directly to us, a magical and soothing story unfolds. A little girl accidentally drops her stuffed bunny out the car window, and the bunny--which has quietly come alive-- feels scared. Searching up, down, in, out, and between, it soon finds itself among a group of friendly forest animals, who accompany it on its journey. Together they frolic through the woods and over a stream until the bunny finds itself safely back where it belongs, in the little girl's arms.

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Kirkus

A reunion between bunny and child rounds out this sweet story, with a cozy campfire delivering a happily-ever-after ending. Find this book. 

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3--A girl's stuffed bunny falls out of the car as her family goes on a camping trip. The toy bunny comes to life and finds adventures with new woodland animals until he finds his way back to the smiling girl. The words in the story are sparse and lyrical, accompanied by Marcero's soft, floating images. The intended message is difficult to understand. The bunny is frightened to be lost, as children would be in the same situation, but the advice offered will not comfort or help a lost child. The text encourages readers to "listen soft and softer/ loud and louder/ close and closer/ and find one thing/ one place/ one smile/ one friend. That's when lost can become something else... a world of celebration." In reality, if a child or toy is lost, the fear turns to sadness and dismay, not celebration. VERDICT This tale has an abstract message and story that young readers will have difficulty connecting with. For better stories about finding things that are lost, turn to Oliver Jeffers's Lost and Found and Mo Willems's Knuffle Bunny.--Heidi Dechief

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

" A reunion between bunny and child rounds out this sweet story, with a cozy campfire delivering a happily-ever-after ending." —Kirkus Reviews
Nikki Loftin
Nikki Loftin is the author of three middle grade novels, including Nightingale's Nest, which received starred reviews from Kirkus and the Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books, and The Sinister Sweetness of Splendid Academy, which was the winner of the 2013 Writer's League of Texas Book Award. This is her picture book debut.

Deborah Marcero is the author and illustrator of the bestselling picture books In a Jar and My Heart Is a Compass. She also illustrated The Boy Whose Head Was Filled With Stars: A Life of Edwin Hubble by Isabelle Marinov and Twinderella by Corey Rosen Schwartz. Learn more at deborahmarcero.com and follow her on Twitter and Instagram @deborahmarcero.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780593375310
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Anne Schwartz Books
Publication date
July 18, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV040000 - Juvenile Fiction | Toys, Dolls & Puppets
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
Library of Congress categories
Toys
Lost and found possessions
Rabbits
Picture books
Foxes

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