The Missing Pairs

by Yvonne Ivinson, Yvonne Ivinson (Illustrator)

Overview

Fox is missing a sock, Hare is missing a mitten, and Badger is missing a boot. Luckily, friendly Bear is there to solve the mystery. A silly and suspenseful picture book from Yvonne Ivinson, creator of Fox and the Box, that is full of rhythm, repetition, wordplay, homophones, and a surprise ending. An ideal choice for story times and emergent readers.

Two socks are a pair of socks. Two mittens are a pair of mittens. Two boots are a pair of boots. Fox, Hare, and Badger are each missing one of their pair. Luckily, Bear knows where they are. Or does he? 

The Missing Pairs features delightful art and a hilarious text to match. Observant readers will spot the thief and cheer for the friends as they try to figure out the mystery of their missing pairs. A terrific choice for family and story time sharing as well as emergent readers, this winning pick is for readers of What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig and Not a Box. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062842893
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/24/2021
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 10.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Yvonne Ivinson is the author of the picture books Fox and the Box and The Missing Pairs. She lives in the countryside near London, England, and tries very hard not to misplace her socks, mittens, or boots. www.yvonneivinson.com

Yvonne Ivinson is the author of the picture books Fox and the Box and The Missing Pairs. She lives in the countryside near London, England, and tries very hard not to misplace her socks, mittens, or boots. www.yvonneivinson.com

Editorial Reviews

06/14/2021

Hand-drawn “Lost” signs are going up all over a forest at this picture book’s start, and it seems that every animal is missing something. For Fox, Hare, and Badger, it’s one half of a pair of some essential cold weather gear—respectively, a blue-striped sock, a yellow polka-dotted mitten, and a turquoise boot. After some misguided help from Bear (who thinks they want “pears”), the group stumbles on a floppy-eared dachshund who’s been stashing the stuff in front of its doghouse—and if readers begin again at the book’s opening pages, they’ll see the serial snatching unfold. In a closing wordless scene, the group, and the dog, have landed back in the forest with the missing items in tow—most of them not belonging to pairs. It’s not the tightest story arc, but Ivinson’s (Fox and the Box) acrylic artwork, with its saturated colors and energetic brushwork, offers some lovely compensation. The urgency of the animals’ quest is almost palpable, and the art’s autumnal cast is winning: the leaves float slowly off the trees, the cast wears bright woolly scarves, and from the looks of the icy blue sky and waving grasses, the forecast is windy with a nip in the air. It practically demands a reading with a side of hot chocolate. Ages 4–8. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

In a community of animal friends, personal items are going missing. . . . Realistic acrylic paintings in deep hues with textured brushstrokes to elicit the furry/fluffy coats and whiskers of the animals provide clues throughout. . . . The easily read text, conveyed mostly in dialogue and playfully incorporating the occasional rhyme, brings the mystery to a close . . . An intriguing whodunit couched in a simple story of friendship and indulgence.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Hand-drawn ‘Lost’ signs are going up all over a forest at this picture book’s start, and it seems that every animal is missing something. . . . The urgency of the animals’ quest is almost palpable, and the art’s autumnal cast is winning: the leaves float slowly off the trees, the cast wears bright woolly scarves, and from the looks of the icy blue sky and waving grasses, the forecast is windy with a nip in the air. It practically demands a reading with a side of hot chocolate.” — Publishers Weekly

“Falling leaves and chilly weather means it's time to start bundling up. But unfortunately for Fox, one sock is missing. . . . Ivinson's colorful, richly textured acrylic illustrations of the animated animals are bursting with charm, and the varied perspectives and droll details—from their festive accessories to the many handmade ‘Lost’ flyers tacked onto trees—add lots of visual interest and engagement. The accessible text interspersing rhyme and playful formatting makes for a lively read-aloud and, together with the artwork, offers a cheery picture-book mystery that will delight many kids.” — Booklist

From the Publisher

Falling leaves and chilly weather means it's time to start bundling up. But unfortunately for Fox, one sock is missing. . . . Ivinson's colorful, richly textured acrylic illustrations of the animated animals are bursting with charm, and the varied perspectives and droll details—from their festive accessories to the many handmade ‘Lost’ flyers tacked onto trees—add lots of visual interest and engagement. The accessible text interspersing rhyme and playful formatting makes for a lively read-aloud and, together with the artwork, offers a cheery picture-book mystery that will delight many kids.

Booklist

Falling leaves and chilly weather means it's time to start bundling up. But unfortunately for Fox, one sock is missing. . . . Ivinson's colorful, richly textured acrylic illustrations of the animated animals are bursting with charm, and the varied perspectives and droll details—from their festive accessories to the many handmade ‘Lost’ flyers tacked onto trees—add lots of visual interest and engagement. The accessible text interspersing rhyme and playful formatting makes for a lively read-aloud and, together with the artwork, offers a cheery picture-book mystery that will delight many kids.

Booklist

2021-06-16
In a community of animal friends, personal items are going missing.

It’s a late autumn day. Fox has lost a sock, Hare has lost a mitten, Badger has lost a boot. “Lost” signs are made for the missing pairs and posted on neighboring tree trunks. Bear seems to have a solution and encourages everyone to climb in his cart to ride across the meadow and to the top of the hill, where they come upon a pear tree. “No, no, no! NO! / Not pear, Bear, PAIR!” Bear’s misunderstanding is loudly acknowledged by the others when suddenly they notice, at the bottom of the hill, Dog harboring a spread of all their missing pairs. Realistic acrylic paintings in deep hues with textured brush strokes to elicit the furry/fluffy coats and whiskers of the animals provide clues throughout. Looking carefully, readers see several illustrations with Dog in the far background running with one or another of the items seen on the lost signs. Other details, such as a family of hedgehogs each with a windfall apple stuck on its prickles, charm. The easily read text, conveyed mostly in dialogue and playfully incorporating the occasional rhyme, brings the mystery to a close as Dog suggests they “Share?” while rightful ownership is restored. Despite Dog’s initial behavior of innocent appropriation, a well-meaning atmosphere of cooperation and camaraderie persists. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An intriguing whodunit couched in a simple story of friendship and indulgence. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews