Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 12/01/2021 *Starred Review* Emberley uses the example of a mother far away from her young son, texting him to tell him she loves and misses him, to illustrate how a text message works. The narrative explanation, accompanied by pencil drawings digitally colored in pastel hues, clearly illustrates how the process works in an understandable way, even if readers don’t comprehend all the technological mechanics behind it. Full-page spreads describe how the boy receives his mother’s text and how his brain’s nerves command his fingers to type her a response. In seconds, the message travels as electromagnetic radio waves into the electromagnetic field, moving through cell towers and then underground, through underwater copper-wire cables on its journey to its recipient. The book also has interesting STEM trivia—for instance, that there are five million cell towers in the world, or that per minute in the U.S. about 16 million text messages are sent. In the illustrations, readers are given a big-picture, bird's-eye view of what’s happening above- and belowground simultaneously as Emberley clearly illustrates a technical process in a way that curious readers will find fascinating. Back matter includes an author’s note and additional print and website resources. - Copyright 2021 Booklist.