Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 04/01/2021 This beautifully illustrated book introduces a series of young animals at play, then relates their activities to those of children. Spanning eight pages, the first of four sections in the minimalist text reads, “Animals hide and hop / and sniff and sneak / and peek and peep. / We play too! / kimêtawânaw mîna.” Closing each section, the Cree phrase reiterates, “We play too.” The second section involves aquatic animals, followed by children swimming, and the third features snakes, bison, and bears in motion, concluding with kids sledding down a snow-covered hill. The final section includes bats roosting, wolf pups yawning, and drowsy children going to sleep. Flett, a Cree-Métis writer and illustrator who lives in Canada, chooses pairs of words that read aloud well. An appended list pairs English words for 13 animals (plus child and baby) with their Cree equivalents. In the art, the simplified forms of animals and children are often silhouetted against parchment-like backgrounds, while color and shading help define the characters' shapes. A handsome, understated picture book affirming our oneness with nature. - Copyright 2021 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 08/01/2021 PreS-Gr 2—This delightful picture book features woodland animals, found in North America, mirroring playtime for children: "Animals hide and hop and sneak and sniff and peep. We play, too! kimêtawânaw mîna." The children are happy, playing and tiring themselves out, then resting by the end of the book. It is a great bedtime story. The words in English are simple and could easily be memorized and then recognized by early readers. The illustrations are warm and inviting; the animal families are depicted in soft, smudged painterly colors. At the end of the book is a glossary of Cree words for the animals in singular, plural, and diminutive forms, along with words for child and baby. The pronunciation for these words can be found on a website. The author's note provides a summary of the book, explaining the kinship between humans and animals in Cree culture and the interconnectedness to "the land, plants, the earth, wind, water and sky." VERDICT Add to any library collection and pair it with Julie Flett's Birdsong.—Danielle Burbank, Farmington, NM - Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.