Bound To Stay Bound

Bulletin for the Center... - 07/01/2005 It’s a dirty job, but sometimes a kid’s got to do it—apprise Dad that the family station wagon is not up to snuff. Jack breaks it as gently as he can: “This car is OK. This car is not bad./ But it’s just a car. Nothing great. Nothing grand./ It’s nothing at all like the car I have planned.” As a true visionary, circa the late 1950s, Jack articulates his own superior design: a vehicle of epic size, with rear jet engines, jutting tail fins, and a bulbous Plexiglas dome. There’s room enough for a swimming pool, living-room furniture, and a snack bar dispensing such delights as chocolate sodas and stringy cheese from an aerosol can. Should Dad become indolent from all this luxury, Robert the Robot will gladly take the wheel. It’s road-, air-, and seaworthy, and it boasts an impact resistant polymer-gel body and an environmentally friendly exhaust system that can “capture the odor of burnt gasoline/ And change it to something more pleasing to noses—/ Like blueberry muffins or freshly picked roses.” Jack’s fantasy is faithful to his era, inspired by the rockets and robots and Wienermobiles that litter his well-appointed bedroom in his tidily manicured suburban ranch house and appropriately tricked out in Melmac hues and dazzling chrome. Jack’s (well, Van Dusen’s) one anachronistic gaffe is a reference to “Belize” (not so named until 1973) as a destination—but, hey, just try to rhyme “British Honduras.” When kids get an eyeful of Jack’s new wheels, the cruise night competition’s bound to lose some of its Turtle Wax luster. - Copyright 2005 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

School Library Journal - 07/01/2005 PreS-Gr 2-With descriptions and a rhyme scheme clearly inspired by Dr. Seuss, a little boy relates all of the wonderful things about the car he plans to design, including safety features, a pool, a robot driver, and the ability to go underwater and fly through the air. The rhyme scheme works well enough, although at times the rhythm falters. The artwork is the real draw here. The brightly colored, crisp, cartoon-style illustrations, reminiscent of the Jetsons, are likely to keep viewers' attention. The full-bleed pictures are animated and detailed, and the boy's dog, which appears in each picture, ties the images together nicely. This slight story may attract young fans of vehicles, but readers looking for a plot will be disappointed in what is essentially an extensive laundry list of the automobile's attributes.-Amy Lilien-Harper, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information. - Copyright 2005 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 05/15/2005 A young boy decides to design a better car than the old family station wagon. Driven by a robot, his sleek, supercharged vehicle can drive underwater and fly, and the interior includes a snack bar and swimming pool. The story is told in jaunty rhyming couplets, but the fun really comes from the illustrations, which perfectly parody 1950s' visions of the future, as depicted in such magazines as Popular Mechanics. The car glides past neat suburban homes with wide and perfect lawns, where everything is bathed in pastels. This may appeal more to parents (or, perhaps more accurately, to grandparents) who remember these renderings of technological dream worlds. Still, children will enjoy the exuberance and goofiness of the double-page spreads, such as the close-up of the expansive snack bar, which dispenses burgers, fries, and Cheez Whip on command. - Copyright 2005 Booklist.