Review by Booklist Review
Pablo the Pig cannot stop losing his possessions. He's lost his shoes and shorts (on separate occasions), his favorite dinosaur, and a Hulk Hogan action figure, among many other things. Every time he misplaces something, his parents help him search for the missing items. Tired of Pablo's carelessness, his parents finally tell him, "You will have to look for things all by yourself." Unbothered, Pablo carries on until a showand-tell assignment leaves him exasperated. He cannot find any of the items he wants to present! Unexpectedly, the story takes a magical twist when Pablo's painted rock, Rocco, comes to life and helps Pablo find his missing objects, teaching the young pig a lesson on the value of objects in the process. Sala's illustrations--created with watercolor, gouache, and colored pencils--are vibrant and endearing. Chaotic depictions of Pablo's messy bedroom are full of captivating details, and a labeled spread of his lost items, as well as the weird and unexpected places they have turned up, will draw chuckles from readers who may relate to Pablo's predicament.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Pablo the pig, a "scatterbrain" in his mother's words, manages to lose all manner of objects: a new backpack (at the bus stop), the shoes off his feet (location unknown), and perennially left-behind stuffie Mr. Crunch (once on an airplane headed for Singapore). Tired of going above and beyond to retrieve Pablo's belongings, Mom and Dad lay down the law: "You will have to look for things all by yourself." But this tough love doesn't register with the distractible Pablo until his room's chaotic clutter stands between him and a fitting show-and-tell item. The story takes a leap into animism when Rocco, a rock with a painted-on smile from Pablo's kindergarten days, guides the pig through the animal-populated city and to a meeting of the Committee for Lost and Forgotten Things, where Pablo's many lost objects await with others. Sala (If You Run Out of Words), working in watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil, matches knowing, always empathic text with vivid settings that help anchor both Pablo and readers in this object lesson, which reinforces that caring for beloved belongings (and beings) demonstrates how deeply they are valued. Ages 4--8. (Oct.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A piglet who constantly loses his belongings regains them with help from an old friend. After Pablo misplaces toys, backpacks, hats, and swim trunks, often multiple times, his folks help locate them--frequently with great difficulty. His parents are shown descending under the street, scaling a tree, and entering a fox's den to retrieve Pablo's possessions. Busy and distracted, Pablo sometimes finds even longer-lost things while searching for recently misplaced ones. Finally, his exasperated parents declare that Pablo will just have to find his missing items himself. Pablo's predicament worsens when he can't locate any of his most treasured possessions for his classroom's upcoming show-and-tell session. The narrative takes a wonderfully fantastical turn when Rocco, Pablo's long-forgotten painted rock, offers advice from the piglet's closet. Rocco explains that many of Pablo's possessions have relocated to a place where they can "get support and hang out with other lost things." The duo head to a vacant building in town, where a vast array of objects, including Pablo's things, socialize with music and conversation. Pablo's items agree to give the piglet another chance, and they return home to Pablo's frantic, then rejoicing parents. Youngsters will appreciate a final vignette that shows that adults often lose and find things, too: Mom's missing teacup's seen at the lost things club, chatting with Pablo's left-behind water bottle. Sala's amusing mixed-media illustrations deftly demonstrate the characters' activities, emotions, and community-building skills. Sweet stuff--lost and found.(Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
