Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 10/01/2025 “Where the rock wall ends, the desert beyond begins.” The desert definitely is not a place where kids should go wandering. The road barrier and the barbed wire in the illustrations confirm the message, but the brown-skinned sister and brother have seen something fall from the sky, and they are curious. The sister is ready for adventure; her brother is less enthusiastic. A beautiful desert landscape unfolds as they move farther from their city. They notice a variety of plants and animals as they follow a path of powerful sundust. Time becomes meaningless as they ponder ancient rocks or consider how a caterpillar transforms. Reality shifts to fantasy when they hitch a ride on a colibrí bird that carries them beyond the clouds and into space. The mix of traditional illustration methods, graphite pencil, colored pencil, and gouache gives a fresh, contemporary feel to the pictures, with realistic and fantasy elements intertwined. Hand-lettered words for emphasis and occasional speech bubbles add fun graphic-novel elements. Hearing their mother’s call, they return, the same but different, part of the force they were following, recognizing the sundust in their own fingertips. - Copyright 2025 Booklist.