Bound To Stay Bound

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Booklist - 12/15/2013 First introduced in Zen Ties (2008) as Stillwater the panda’s nephew, Koo is alone in the narrative world of this verse collection, until a boy and girl from the neighborhood knock on his door. They share good times throughout the seasons, whether throwing snowballs, reading aloud to sparrows, or skipping stones. And sometimes Koo enjoys reflective moments alone, “becoming so quiet / Zero sound / only breath.” These very short poems, ranging from fresh to poignant to prosaic, are enhanced by the beautiful watercolor-and-ink illustrations on every page. Reflecting the brevity and imagery of the verse, the spare fall and winter pictures seem particularly fine, while their relative simplicity contrasts effectively with the profusion of color in the spring and summer scenes. Besides pointing out the subtle trail of alphabetically arranged capital letters in each poem throughout the book, the author’s note expresses Muth’s rationale for not restricting himself to “the five-seven-five syllable pattern that many of us grew up learning haiku must be.” Haiku or not, this collection is worth reading. - Copyright 2013 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 02/01/2014 K-Gr 4—Muth, in his author's note, says "haiku is like an instant captured in words." Indeed, that is evident in 26 poems depicting images across four seasons, starting with fall. Muth's well-known panda, Koo, is depicted on a white background with just a touch of blue sky, looking up at swirling leaves: "Autumn/are you dreaming /of new clothes?" Koo, who begins alone, is soon joined by two children for the rest of the seasons. In the spring, birds alight on Koo, the girl, and on a branch held by the boy: "Quiet and still/long enough/for birds to make nests?" The color palette for the contemplative watercolors changes through the seasons, with a red-striped scarf and cardinal contrasting against the panda and the white snow. When a crown of snow falls on Koo he exclaims, "King!/my crown a gift/from a snowy branch." Muth's author's note also explains his variation from the traditional five-seven–five poetic form and invites readers to follow "an alphabetical path through the book by following the capitalized words in each haiku." While others haiku picture books include Andrew Clements's Dogku (S & S, 2007), Bob Raczka's Guyku (Houghton Harcourt, 2010), and Rita Gray's One Big Rain (Charlesbridge, 2010), no previous titles so cohesively capture the naturalistic spirit of Japanese haiku. Even readers who are not typically interested in poetry will be captivated by Muth's artistry in both words and images.—Julie R. Ranelli, Queen Anne's County Free Library, Stevensville, MD - Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 03/01/2014 This creative poetic sequence follows the seasons through twenty-six haiku, partnered with illustrations that feature Muth’s familiar anthropomorphized panda as he explores the joys of fall, winter, spring, and summer along with his child friends. The poems are deftly aimed at kid experiences (“Eating warm cookies/ on a cold day/ is easy”), and the phrasing is often evocative; additionally, the alphabet threads through the sequence, with each poem containing a capitalized word beginning with its relevant letter. Muth’s delicate watercolors are triumphant, setting tender washes of sky and grass against the very kidlike poses of Koo the panda as he cranes his neck skyward or peers intently at ground-level action; their clarity is a particularly fine partner for Muth’s easygoing, freeform haiku (an introduction states his reasons for eschewing the conventional syllabic rules). This has potential for both reading alone and aloud, since the poems are accessible enough to serve as youthful writing prompts but are also crisp and vivid as oral verse. DS - Copyright 2014 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

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