Bound To Stay Bound

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Booklist - 09/01/2013 At first glance, this feels like a familiar cautionary tale in which the small boy who fears nothing will learn a lesson in humility. Unafraid of lions or many-headed giants, this boy is certainly a “willful, thrillful child” who makes the adults in his life despair. But what does at last scare him turns this into a celebration of children’s unfettered curiosity and daring. Bryan’s lyrical poetry might be best read out loud: “The giant massacred the song; the scared boy’s ears were ringing. / He hoped he’d never hear again, such awful off-key singing.” The buoyant watercolors, bordered in a stained-glass design, complement the musicality of the text, mitigating any sense of fear—for example, Giant Three Heads guffaws through wide, goofy grins. In the end, this mischievous boy outsmarts all the demons and runs home and into the arms of his loving grandma. He changes his song to assure her that his escapades have taught him about fear, and he promises to be good from now on. Or for at least a little while. - Copyright 2013 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 10/01/2013 PreS-Gr 3—With his inimitable style and distinctive folk-art illustrations, Bryan tells a trickster tale from the French and English Antilles about a wild and fearless boy who doesn't flinch even when his grandma tells him stories of giants with two and three heads. He plays his flute ("Too-de-loo-de-loo-de-loot!") and sings: "Tanto, tanto, I'm wild and I'm free./Grandma's stories can't scare me./I'm bold! I'm brave! And though I may be small,/No many-headed giant scares ME at all!" However, encounters with both the two-headed and three-headed brothers in the jungle scare him a little, and when safely back at his Grandma's home he promises to behave: "Dear Grandma, now that I know FEAR,/I will be good, don't worry./If only you would tell me soon…/FOUR-HEADED GIANT'S STORY!" The lilting, loosely rhymed text reads well aloud, and the tempera and watercolor, brightly hued illustrations flood the pages with color and action. The stylized giants are not too scary and the book could be used successfully in storytimes with children's participation.—Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA - Copyright 2013 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

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