The Lost Package

by Richard Ho, Jessica Lanan (Illustrator)

Overview

A Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Children's Book of 2021

A Kirkus Best Picture Book of 2021

From author Richard Ho and illustrator Jessica Lanan, the heartwarming story of a package that gets lost, then found, and an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at what happens at the post office.

Like other packages, this one began as an empty box. It was packed with great care, sealed tight, and given a personal touch.

Like other packages, it left the post office with hope. But unlike most packages, before it got to its destination...

it

got

lost.

Follow one package that loses its way and discover a friendship tale that proves distance can't always keep us apart.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250829238
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	03/02/2021
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	64 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Richard Ho is a children’s book author who was once, himself, a child. He is a former journalist and educational scriptwriter who enjoys writing stories about science, culture, and the magic of everyday life. Red Rover is his first book for young readers.

Jessica Lanan has long been enchanted by the mysteries of the cosmos. Exoplanets are too far away for her to visit, but illustrating them is the next best thing. Jessica currently lives in her native state of Colorado with her husband, three-legged cat, and baby daughter, who was born during the making of Just Right: Searching for the Goldilocks Planet.

Richard Ho is a children’s book author who was once, himself, a child. He is a former journalist and educational scriptwriter who enjoys writing stories about science, culture, and the magic of everyday life. Red Rover is his first book for young readers.

Jessica Lanan has long been enchanted by the mysteries of the cosmos. Exoplanets are too far away for her to visit, but illustrating them is the next best thing. Jessica currently lives in her native state of Colorado with her husband, three-legged cat, and baby daughter, who was born during the making of Just Right: Searching for the Goldilocks Planet.

Jessica's illustrations can also be found in Finding Narnia: The Story of C. S. Lewis and His Brother, The Lost Package, and Jumper.

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/18/2021

Ho’s moving story uses less than 200 words—including part of the USPS motto, “neither snow,/ nor rain,/ nor heat,/ nor gloom of night”—to trace a package’s journey across the United States. But the pictures depict far more than its trip: a parent and child’s drive across the variable U.S. landscape, a long-distance relationship, and budding new friendships. Opening with a tan-skinned child in New York City carefully packing a box and taking it to the post office, the book devotes several spreads to detailing the postal processes the box undergoes before accidentally flying off a mail truck en route to the airport. It is found by a Black child and parent who, serendipitously, soon move to San Francisco, the package’s destination. The richness of the tale lies in subtly textured watercolor illustrations by Lanan (The Fisherman & the Whale), which poignantly portray a broad range of settings, from gritty urban streets shimmering with rain to snow-swept terrains to a desolate gas station. An end note by Ho (Red Rover: Curiosity on Mars) contextualizes this homage to the USPS, where his immigrant father worked for more than 30 years, and urges readers to support the now-struggling agency. Ages 3–6. Author’s agent: Emily Mitchell, Wernick & Pratt. Illustrator’s agent: Ed Maxwell, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

A JLG Gold Standard Selection

A Kirkus Best Picture Book of 2021

FOUR STARRED REVIEWS FOR THE LOST PACKAGE:

"A delightful tale."—Booklist, starred review

*"Quietly, beautifully told, and deeply satisfying."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "The richness of the tale lies in subtly textured watercolor illustrations by Lanan (The Fisherman & the Whale), which poignantly portray a broad range of settings, from gritty urban streets shimmering with rain to snow-swept terrains to a desolate gas station."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

*"Both informative and inspiring, The Lost Package celebrates surprising connections that can happen when what's lost gets found."—Shelf Awareness, starred review

From the Publisher

03/01/2021

PreS-K—The journey of a package begins as a young girl assembles it with care. At the post office, it is processed and put on a truck; along the way it falls out and lays in the gutter, lost until found by a brown-skinned boy walking with his mother and dog. The boy and his mother care for the package, including it in their moving truck and traveling across country through all kinds of weather before arriving at their new home and the package's destination. Delivering the box results in a new friendship between two mothers and two boys. Realistic watercolors depict the two urban environments, while bedroom posters and a drawing of the Golden Gate Bridge on the package reveal the locations as New York City and San Francisco. Variations in perspective and careful pacing convey the tumult and loneliness of a package lost and found on an urban street while the parallel story narrates the boy and mother's serendipitous journey and move. VERDICT A solid purchase, and a touching story of friendship. An author's note provides a personal tribute to the USPS and mentions the impact of the coronavirus on the agency.—Ramarie Beaver, formerly at Plano P.L., TX

School Library Journal

★ 2020-12-25
A lost package finally arrives where it was intended to go.

An elementary-age New Yorker sends a gift to a friend in the Bay Area. Ho and Lanan skillfully describe and depict, respectively, the procedures of the U.S. Postal Service as the box begins to make its way to its destination. Alas, a pothole in the road to the airport causes the box to fall out of the truck. It lands in a puddle and is ignored until another kid finally spies it. Curious, the child picks it up, noting not only the recipient’s address, but also a drawing of the Golden Gate Bridge that the sender inked on it. Luckily, the box’s finder is moving to that place along with mom and dog! Guess what they’ll personally deliver when they get there? So the USPS doesn’t deliver the box, but this family does—and makes new friends. This sweetly simple, understated story is emotionally rich, a warm paean to the power of connections. Ho’s text places the box as its protagonist, giving Lanan ample space to develop the story around it. Her delicate watercolor illustrations provide clues to both cities, though interpretation requires sharp eyes and some prior knowledge (or a helpful caregiver). Engaging perspectives and effective uses of type add drama. The box’s sender and recipient both present Asian; the intervening kid and mom present Black. An afterword describes the author’s family’s moving connection to the U.S. Post Office. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-18-inch double-page spreads viewed at 103% of actual size.)

Quietly, beautifully told and deeply satisfying. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews