The Lost Property Office

On her way to see her grandpa on the train with Mummy, a little girl leaves her teddy on the train. Despite being offered another teddy to cuddle, it’s just not the same.

Fortunately, Grandpa has a brainwave and takes the little girl to the Lost Property Office, which is full of all manner of amazing things people have lost on trains –footballs, bouncers, violins, false teeth and even a frying pan. But there, among all the lost teddies belonging to other children, is her teddy. Thank goodness!

Emily Rand’s simple story about the experience of losing something on a train is reassuringly lovely. For children, the knowledge that there are places where lost things are kept until you’re ready to find them is a comforting thought.

However, it’s also Rand’s vivid depiction of the amazing, exciting and varied Lost Property Office (reminiscent of the legendary London Underground Lost Property Office, which contains everything from false teeth and prosthetic limbs to scarves, books and toys) that adds a sense of mystery and fascination to an ordinary, everyday thing.