Lost and Found (Hardcover)
When Justin loses the special hat his grandmother made for him, he looks everywhere he can think of to find it. Everywhere, that is, except the lost and found. Mr. Rumkowsky, the old school custodian, is the keeper of all the lost and found items, and everyone is afraid of him, including Justin.
With his grandmother coming to visit soon, his mom upset, and the hat nowhere in sight, Justin finally musters the courage to enter Mr. Rumkowsky's domain. There he discovers a whole world of treasures - lost items Justin's friends (and generations of children before them) have been too afraid to claim. Things keep getting weirder and weirder, until way down at the bottom of Rumkowsky's giant box Justin unearths something completely unexpected...
AwardsParents' Choice Approved, Bank Street Best Children's Books 2013, 2013-2014 Great Lakes' Great Books Award (honor book, grades 2-3) Michigan Reading Association, Maine Chickadee Award Nominee, Delaware Diamonds List Nominee, Florida Reading Association Children's Book Award Nominee, Society of School Librarians International Book Awards 2013 (honor book, Language Arts picture books), 2014-2015 Golden Sower (NE) Award Nominee, 2014-15 Show Me Readers Award Nominee, 2015 Bill Martin, Jr. Picture Book Award Nominee (Kansas Reading Association), 2014-15 Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Awards Nominee
"Librarians and teachers will love this book for its perfect story time quality, the expressive text matched with the dynamic illustrations..." Kid Lit Reviews
"...Telling a realistic tale of fears faced and rewards earned, this picture book has its own hidden treasures... an excellent read-aloud choice for classroom or library." Booklist
"We just love all things Bill Harley and his new book does not disappoint. My four kids are ages 3-9, and they all enjoy reading "Lost and Found." My girls ask for it nightly and my boys just pluck it from the shelf whenever they need a good giggle. They all just love that the boy's mom was scared of Mr. Rumkowsky when she was a child in school. The illustrations are beautiful and keep my 3 & 4 year old girls gazing for new things to pick out in the pictures. My boys, ages 7 & 9, love all the funny and amazing things that are left behind in the lost and found. It actually made them want to go check out the lost and found in their school to find some of their lost things. Thank you for another wonderful addition to our Bill Harley collection. Please keep them coming!"
The Hren Family
"Storyteller Harley embodies a child's fears with humor and sympathy. Harley's view of the elementary-school world succeeds in making Justin's fanciful experience palpably real. Gustavson enhances the dramatic mood with realistic double-page spreads that artfully use a child's-eye perspective. The word "CAUTION" blazes from a cleaning bucket. There are endless locks on the janitor's door. Leaves scatter everywhere, just like a young boy's belongings. Within this child's view of the world, full of questions and pressure and misunderstanding, wisdom comes - sometimes from the unlikeliest places." Kirkus Reviews