Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 07/01/2019 After collecting raindrops in a jar, young Isaac releases the water into a natural pool near his home, sending him on a journey of imagination. Soft, luminous pictures reveal a world of earthly wonders as the jar-water travels through misty meadows, down serpentine riverbeds, to cities whose water is fouled by pollution, and finally to the ocean. “Where is the water from my jar now?” wonders Isaac, even as a blue leviathan, hardly distinguishable from the deep, swallows some of it. The water is released in the whale’s spray before making its way to the tropics, where it becomes rain once more in an ancient cycle that continues forward. Baker-Smith’s prose is spare and relegated to the edges of his soothing illustrations, giving them even more dramatic emphasis. The beauty of the water cycle is primary here, making for a welcome contrast to books that take a more scientific approach. The wider perspective, eventually circling back to Isaac and his riverine home, makes for a nice addition to most collections. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 08/01/2019 PreS-Gr 2—Stunning full-bleed digital illustrations depict the story of water and its cycles. Young Isaac, accompanied by his white lamb, has a net and is putting little fish into a jar filled with water when the rain begins. After emptying it into the pool, the boy races downhill along a stream that he imagines contains the water from his jar. The stream meets a river that flows through the countryside and a big city before becoming part of the ocean. The importance of water to humans, land animals, and sea creatures is emphasized. A whale swims and hunts near an iceberg, zebras and elephants drink near a waterfall while an African village celebrates the return of the rain. The text tells of water's cyclical nature, that it runs in deep currents far under the earth's surface but can be heated by the sun's rays and become mist. "The mist cools and gathers into a cloud that floats over a mountain in a country far, far away from Isaac's pool." Large detailed pictures show a variety of perspectives from deep in the ocean to an eagle's perch high above a river. The tale comes full circle as the "wandering water" becomes rain that soaks the flowers near Isaac's pool. VERDICT A lovely and accessible look at the water cycle and the forces of nature that support and perpetuate life on the planet.—Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library WI - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.