Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 04/01/2026 K-Gr 4—Nayeri wraps a story inside a story in this gorgeously illustrated folktale from Iran. The unnamed narrator tells how he would wait all week to go to his grandfather's farm, but the trip was long and hot and boring. However, on the way there was a place to stop to refuel where a man named Abbas told stories. Abbas offers the young narrator a story in which a young man travels to the underworld to stop a giant from stealing his family's fortune, a lemon so sweet it takes away sadness. During this trip, the young man meets a young woman and together they flee the underworld, leaving the thieving giant. It's an exciting story and part of the fun is the commentary of the boy and Abbas. Divine artwork uses mixed media collage that has a feel of rustic folk art, pairing the geometric design of mosaic tiles with Arabic calligraphy. The palette is colorful and the pictures offer cultural clues in folkloric clothing that contrasts with the more modern look of the storyteller. This would make a wonderful addition to any collection of folktales and fairy tales. VERDICT A must-have—don't let young readers miss this gloriously written and illustrated folktale.—Debbie Tanner - Copyright 2026 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Publishers Weekly - 03/23/2026 A refueling break unfurls into a layered tale of longing in this artfully rendered, dazzlingly circuitous picture book from Nayeri (A Knot Is Not a Tangle) and Jomepour Bell (Where I Grew). Eagerly awaiting arrival at his grandfather’s orchard, a young narrator, driving with his parents a "forever-long way" across the desert from Isfahan, stops at the house of a storyteller, Abbas. After some convincing, Abbas begins a meandering tale: "Once there was, and once there wasn’t.... And once upon a time," a mother and three sons puzzle over the disappearance of the family’s unique treasure. The single precious lemon, which develops once yearly on an unusual tree, is "so perfectly sweet that it cured sadness itself." When the family finally, after years of attempts, discover the reason behind the lemon’s annual vanishing, the youngest brother goes on a quest, through a well and into a deep underworld, to retrieve the fruit. The intentionally digressive text pauses and lingers, vividly situating the reader in the characters’ yearning-the protagonist’s desire to get to his grandfather’s farm, a secondary character’s wish for children-as well as experiences of abiding sweetness. Echoing the story’s nested structure, Jomepour Bell twines densely patterned gouache images and collage illustrations that draw on Persian artworks. It all culminates in a smartly braided story that’s fully invested in its own expansive telling. Creators’ notes conclude. Ages 4-8. Author’s agent: Joanna Volpe, New Leaf Literary & Media. Illustrator’s agent: Christy Ewers, CAT Agency. (June) - Copyright 2026 Publishers Weekly used with permission.

Booklist - 06/01/2026 In a story framed as a childhood memory and driven entirely through dialogue, a young narrator recalls listening to Abbas, an older family friend, spin an exciting yarn featuring three brothers, a princess, magic sheep, a wicked giant, and a stolen lemon sweet enough to cure worry and sadness. Though most of these elements might seem typically folkloric, the author tweaks convention by, for instance, casting the princess in an active role. He also describes her as heroic rather than beautiful—a cue that Bell takes up in the jewel-toned illustrations by depicting her with mature features more strong than typically attractive. It’s still love at first sight, though, and after escaping the giant, the princess and the youngest brother “live[] happily ever after and die[] together on the same day.” “‘Did they get married and have lots of babies?’ ‘Oh sure, sure.’” The illustrator and Newbery Honoree Nayeri, both of whom were born in Iran, contribute perceptive afterwords discussing the native roots and distinctive features of, respectively, the art and the story type. - Copyright 2026 Booklist.