Lost and found what's that sound?

In this entertaining rhyme with perky digital illustrations, a string of animals visits Mr. Hare's Lost and Found, "where we find items by their sound": toot!; ding!; plink! plank! plunk!; etc. Mr. Hare offers each animal patron an object that makes the missing sound, and, satisfyingly, the whole gang gets together to play a tune on their instruments: "let's hit it, band! (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Just before showtime, the animals in the band must search for their instruments in the lost and found by their identifying sounds.A mouse happily claims the trumpet after a congenial-looking rabbit clerk produces a bicycle horn, trumpet, and toy train in response to a request for an instrument that makes a "Toot! Toot! Toot!" sound. Similarly a beaver retrieves the triangle from an assortment of things that make a "Ding! Ding! Ding!" sound. An elephant and a squirrel find their piano and drum, and the band reassembles, led by their conductor, a bat. The animals' questions are phrased in rhyming couplets: "The thing I lost goes Plink! Plank! Plunk! I play it with my big, long trunk," explains the elephant. The simple, black-outlined cartoons against a white or pale yellow background extend the narrative so that readers are expected to discern objects with their corresponding sounds. The rabbit offers the elephant first a piggy bank ("Plink!"), then a flowerpot full of water ("Plank!"), and then a comically tiny piano ("Plunk!"). Unfortunately, as the band comes together, their meager performance reflects the bareness of this storyline. The bat ends the search and exclaims, "You found my things! They sound so grand. / One, two, three // let's hit it, band! / Toot! Ding! Plunk! Boom!" The flat ending is disappointing for a group of characters who could have exhibited a rousing rhythmic finale. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.