Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 09/01/2023 Gr 1–3—An overhead view of Notre-Dame before the blaze of April 2019 sets the scene; the book opens on spring in Paris, as Sibyle the beekeeper tends to the hives that are situated on a high terrace of the cathedral's Sacristy, near the famous rose windows. The bees, dormant over winter, find their ways to the blossoms of a French spring while their queen lays eggs in the centuries-old wax of the honeycomb. Then fire breaks out, and the fire-fighting is swift as heartbreaking events unfold; there is never a thought but that all will be rebuilt. A second overhead view, post-fire, shows readers the extent of the damage and what was saved or salvaged. The facts are presented poetically, with license, so that text about the bees dancing directions for other bees as to the location of pollen is shown next to a scene of the queen laying eggs. The melding of two compelling stories—beekeeping at the cathedral and the fire—acts to weaken both, and the last sentence only underscores this: "When the tall black cloud of smoke and ash finally clears, the sun rises to say, ‘Come! Rebuild. Work with each other. You are stronger together. Just like the bees.'" Back matter includes more about the story in an author's note, along with diagrams of Notre Dame and recommended reading. VERDICT A messy hybrid of two promising stories results in a lovingly created book that will find an audience but reads like a lost opportunity.—Kimberly Olson Fakih - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 09/01/2023 *Starred Review* A focus on bees is an unexpectedly engaging angle to this account of the 2019 fire atop the Notre-Dame de Paris. With light and airy language, Browne invites readers to visit Paris in the spring and join beekeeper Sibyle atop the cathedral in bidding her buzzing charges stretch their wings to gather “pollen in your pockets / and nectar in your belly!” And if one day “everything changes” amid sirens and swirling bursts of flame, no sooner do the ashes settle than up rises the sun to address more than just the city’s insects: “Come! / Rebuild. / Work with each other. / You are stronger together.” Goodale intersperses finely drawn scenes of honeybees in hives and in flight with broader glimpses of the towering cathedral and surrounding city, all sandwiched between fascinating, schematic, before-and-after overhead views of the rooftop to show the damage to architectural features and where the hives were. Better yet, in her afterword, the author reassuringly notes that the bees were unharmed in the blaze and have been moved to ground level during the reconstruction. Adults privileged to share this with younger audiences will find a list of recommended reading just for them at the end. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.