The book begins: "Once there was a boy who found a penguin at his door." It's a wonderfully curious setup for a tale of friendship, kindness and bravery. The child assumes that the penguin is lost, because why, after all, would a penguin be at his front door? Determined to help the creature find its way home, the boy visits the library and discovers that penguins come from the South Pole. He decides he must build a boat to get them there.

The boy doesn't discuss anything with parents. In fact, there are no parental figures in the story. He doesn't stop to think what might happen if a big storm comes, which it does in a big and scary fashion. He knows only that he's on a mission. When the two travelers finally reach their destination and the penguin is reunited with his own kind, the boy realizes that the penguin was not lost at all, just lonely and in need of a friend. Through their courageous journey, the two have forged a trusted and valuable friendship.

Lost and Found should serve as an example to all children's filmmakers that kids don't need a fast-paced cartoon or disrespectful characters to become engaged in a story. The pace of the 30-minute production is perfect, as is everything else about it.