Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 05/01/2025 Here's a book that walks the fine line between shining a light on painstaking agricultural work and romanticizing it. The story, set in China, follows a family of four as they rise early, before dawn, to trek into the hills to the tea garden, where they pick tea leaves and gather them in baskets on their backs. The journey is arduous but beautiful, and the illustrations help readers understand the terrain and life-forms. The family works silently until the adults break out with songs and jokes to make the children laugh and keep them distracted and working. As the sun rises, the heat and sap from the tea stems cause discomfort, which is quickly assuaged by cool spring water and a picnic. Readers will learn where tea comes from before it reaches the stores in pretty boxes, but ultimately, this is a story of a close-knit family that works hard picking and selling tea, finding pleasure in the beauty of their environment. - Copyright 2025 Booklist.