THE LOST AND FOUND

A wobbly offering from Teague (Baby Tamer, 1997, etc.), in which Wendell and Floyd, who missed their math test when a giant squid trapped them in the restroom, are waiting to see the principal when a new girl, Mona, approaches the lost and found box in search of her lucky hat. She disappears into the container, and Wendell and Floyd follow, entering a netherworld of lost gloves, baseballs, and dolls. A few sight gags—a suit of armor, a treasure chest full of gold, a Viking ship, a sign pointing the way to Atlantis—hold more promise than the actual story delivers, for the adventure sags and the theme of luck lurks undeveloped somewhere around the hat room they discover. Mona finds her hat (in her purse, where it was all along) and the two boys are ready to face the principal. The illustrations offer plenty to pore over, and will sustain Teague’s fans until his next work rolls out. (Picture book. 4-7)