Where’s Whitney? By Debbie and Michael W. Smith, Illustrated by Bridget Starr Taylor

            This book begins by introducing Whitney, a little girl who easily gets lost in daydreams without paying attention to her surroundings. Whitney’s family and extended family, the Smiths, go vacationing at a beach house where they all enjoy the ocean and the sun. Towards the end of their vacation, Whitney’s dad invites the whole family to go to a theme park. After spending the day at the theme park, the kids get the last of their energy out by playing on giant plastic dragons. Whitney, deep in her world of pretend, gets left behind since she was quietly hiding in the dragon. She locates a mom with children as her parents have instructed her to do when they are lost. After the rest of the Smiths realize that Whitney is missing, the leave the beach house and return to the amusement park, praying for her safety on the way. They find Whitney at the Ticket Booth at the closing time of the park. After the family reunites at the beach house, they exchange stories and eagerly greet Whitney while the great grandfather prays a prayer of thanks.

            This book would be most appropriate for first and second graders. Because of the theme of prayer to God in this book, I would only use this particular when teaching in a Christian school. However, I could use another book that also teaches students what to do when they are lost that is secular. This book and similar books teach the importance of staying alert to what a child’s parents and siblings are doing and where they are going. It also demonstrates to students that they should stay calm and find a woman with children when they are lost. I would use this book to teach students these life skills. The illustrations are vibrant to capture their attention and help them remember what they should do when they are lost. In a Christian school, this book also demonstrates relying on God by praying for safety and giving thanks. Overall, this book is incredibly useful and fun to show children in a visual, narrative way to teach kids how to deal with being lost in a public place.