Bound To Stay Bound

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Full Text Reviews:

School Library Journal - 08/01/2017 PreS-Gr 1—In this story, a boy of color dons a red hoodie, leashes his eager dog, and ventures out into the twilight, where the windows are "blinking awake as the lights turn on inside: a neighborhood of paper lanterns." Readers get to peer in at the small, diverse figures making dinner, throwing a party, dancing, even stretching tin cans on a string between houses to talk on the "phone." The brilliant colors of the changing sky connect to the illumination within—as if originating from the same source. Light and relationships envelop the journey in security and quiet joy: the child's mother watches as her son leaves, waves to a friend on a skateboard, and plays with his dog in the park. Memorable language contributes to the mood, as a raccoon is observed "taking a bath in squares of yellow light." The compositions are rendered in ink, watercolor, letterpress, and digital collage. Readers will want to revisit these pages of impressionistic trees, buildings that blur as they recede into the vanishing point, and captivating combinations of fully realized scenes with transparent objects outlined in delicate lines. The narrative ends with a quickening step toward the loved one waving behind the curtain—and a story shared in a snuggle. VERDICT This evocative portrait elevates an everyday routine to a wonder-filled walk of discovery. Perfect for one-on-one and small group sharing.—Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library - Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 09/01/2017 *Starred Review* As nighttime falls, a brown-skinned kid, who could be a boy or a girl, in a cheery red hoodie (surely an homage to Ezra Jack Keats’ The Snowy Day) takes a dog for a walk down a densely populated city street. In dusky building facades, glowing windows reveal snippets of life within, and with a lyrical, whispery tone, the narrative directly invites the reader, like the protagonist, to find delight and wonder in the neighborhood’s activity. Goodale’s arresting artwork does most of the heavy lifting here, with a sky progressing from the pale pastels just before sunset to the fiery orange and pink glow of a setting sun to the deep blues and purples of a darkening night. The cityscape is lively in front of Goodale’s aqueous skies, and the variety of people quietly emphasizes the diversity of the child’s neighborhood—families prepare dinner, construction workers tidy up a site, couples take dance lessons, a yoga class stretches, and a pair of kids in neighboring houses talk on a tin-can telephone strung between their windows. It’s a genial take on city life, which makes the neighborhood seem just as comforting as home, though the child’s home—just as luminescent as the windows he or she passes—is surely the most comforting of all. Ideal bedtime reading and a gorgeously understated celebration of everyday enchantment. - Copyright 2017 Booklist.

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