• Adèle and Simon by Barbara McClintock. (2006) Ages 4-8
  In this old-fashioned book, Adèle tells Simon not to lose anything on the way home from school, but as they wend their way through the streets of 1907 Paris, he manages to lose everything.
• Billy’s Beetle by Mick Inkpen. (1991) Ages 3-7
  When Billy loses his beetle, he enlists a “sniffy dog,” a hedgehog, an elephant, an “oompah band” and an assortment of other helpers in his search to recover it.
• Blueberry Shoe by Ann Dixon, illus. by Evon Zerbetz. (1999) Ages 3-7
  Baby loses his red shoe on a blueberry-picking trip. One by one, animals on the mountain discover the shoe...until the family returns the next summer and gets it back.
• Down the Back of the Chair by Margaret Mahy, illus. by Polly Dunbar. (2006) Ages 4-8
  A father frantically searches the chair cushions for disposable income, and finds “pleasure, treasure, toys, and trash,” listed in rhyme and brought to life by wacky pictures.
• The Missing Mitten Mystery by Steven Kellogg. (2000) Ages 3-7
  Annie’s dog Oscar helps her retrace her steps in search of the mitten she has lost. Among her many creative theories is one about a “mitten tree.” Finally, the melting snow reveals it.
• A Mountain of Mittens by Lynn Plourde, illus. by Mitch Vane. (2007) Ages 5-9
  The massive lost-and-found pile at this school will look familiar to many parents and teachers! The refrain reads: “Mittens, mittens. My oh my! A mountain of mittens, piled up high.”
• One Mitten by Kristine O'Connell George, illus. by Maggie Smith. (2004) Ages 2-6
  A child can imagine many uses for a seemingly useless single yellow mitten...but when she finds the other mitten (underneath the cat), she gets to go outside to play.
• Stella Louella's Runaway Book by Lisa Campbell Ernst. (1998) Ages 4-8
  Stella has lost her library book, and it’s due by the end of the day! She must trace its whereabouts by asking around town, where its many readers drop hints about which book it is.
• Those Messy Hempels by Brigitte Luciani, illus. by Vanessa Hié. (2004) Ages 4-8
  The Hempels finally clean their house as they look for their whisk. In each room, a misplaced object (a toothbrush in the bedroom, for instance) sends them to the next room.

        You can download the booklist as a pdf.