Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 08/08/2023 Cornbread and Poppy may be best friends, but they’re very different mice. When Cornbread invites Poppy to the Gala at Moonville’s museum, Poppy reluctantly agrees, but only after they make a deal: if Poppy doesn’t like the Gala, Cornbread (who’s afraid to spend a night in the woods) will go camping with her. As Cornbread shows Poppy around the museum, he’s disappointed that she’s not more excited about the “Toothbrushes through Time” exhibit, the Molds and Fungi gallery, or the priceless, porcelain Vase of Bagoo. Later, he’s so downcast that he inadvertently walks into the supposedly “irreplaceable” vase, smashing it to smithereens. Poppy gives him an identical vase from her attic and helps him lug it to the museum. While gently poking fun at high-society mice, Cordell tells a tale that’s true to both main characters’ personalities. Every scene comes to life in his expressive pen-and-ink drawings, warmed with soft watercolor washes. While it’s designed for beginning readers, the third book in the amusing Cornbread & Poppy series will please many younger children as well. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 07/01/2023 Gr 1–3—Cordell's bosom friends return for their third adventure in this charming early chapter book series. Cornbread is over the moon when he receives an invitation to a Founders Gala at the Moonville Museum. The gourmet cheeses, curious exhibits, and general fancy atmosphere of the event is a perfect match for Cornbread's sensibilities. For a lover of adventure and wilderness like Poppy, though, the occasion is anathema. But she dusts off her best hat and puts her best foot forward to attend the gala as Cornbread's plus-one. Poppy's mettle is put to the test as she endures the museum attendants shouting "Bagoo! Bagoo!," holds her nose through the Molds and Fungi exhibit, and is the sudden recipient of attention when a surprising family connection is discovered. But a mishap with Cornbread and a treasured perfumed vase will prove that the two friends will always be there for each other. The fanciful character names and eccentric tone call the works of Lemony Snicket to mind, while Cordell's scratchy illustrations seem like descendants of Edward Gorey. While the text can stand on its own, it might be better appreciated if read alongside the rodent duo's previous escapades. VERDICT A twee answer to "Frog and Toad" that will serve readers of early chapter books looking for more literary fare.—Jose Cruz - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.