OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Lost But Found" by Lauren Persons.]

Lost But Found by Lauren Persons is a children's picture book that discusses familial death and how to process these types of events. The story is about a young boy who loses his father. They aren't playing hide and seek, and he didn't lose his dad in the store. The young boy lost his dad to an unnamed disease. How does he move forward?

Lost But Found was able to discuss death tactfully and uniquely. Not once did the author use the word "death." She phrased it as a permanent loss. While this makes sense, I am concerned that younger kids, who this book is marketed towards, may not understand the story because of this. Children, especially young children, are concrete thinkers. "Loss" would generally equate to losing a toy, not a permanent death of a family member. The book goes on to explain this concept, but only inasmuch as the author says the father was lost to a disease. As such, the guardian would then need to explain the concept of death still.

That said, if someone is beginning to discuss the concept of death with young ones, this would be a helpful book to start. The book allows readers to explain how this concept is different than losing a toy or a parent in the store.

As a whole, I liked that the book shows readers that people can still be seen and felt after they pass. While they may physically leave, they will always be with us in some form. Further, I loved the charming illustrations. Specifically, the author and illustrator created polaroid-esque pictures at the end of the book to show how they look. It was adorable and fresh. It made me wish others did this.

Overall, I have to give the book 3 out of 4 stars. I took into consideration the above, as well as grammatical errors, or lack thereof. The book appeared to be edited, though I did find a few minor errors. Further, I believe the book could have used more personalization, as the characters had no names. However, I found the book to be well-edited and illustrated, cohesive, inducive to a conversation, and helpful.

At this time, I would recommend this book to young readers, specifically elementary-aged. This book would best be used to supplement discussion of loss, perhaps after a personal event. Though, I would not recommend this as a general, daily read due to the topic.

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Lost But Found
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Dealing with death is hard enough as an adult, so a book on this subject to help children is admirable. I agree with you though, the concept of using the word loss may not satisfy a child's understanding of death as permanent. Excellent and informative review!

It's difficult to explain to children what happens to people when they die. This book is surely something I would've liked to see when I was growing up. Thank you for the detailed review!

Death a permanent loss, it always aches ones heart to lose a loved one. Kudos to the Author for writing this book. It will give the knowledge of that permanent loss to young ones. You've written a very good review.