Bound To Stay Bound

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School Library Journal - 02/01/2015 Gr 2–4—Clover believes that she has bad luck. She keeps losing her pets and her best friend got into horse camp without her. She is dreading her summer. This changes when her latest pet, a bird, escapes after a baseball breaks a hole in her window. She follows her bird into the scary woods where no one is willing to go. Clover soon finds a sign advertising the need for animal lovers to volunteer at an agency called the M.A.A.A. She follows the directions, discovering an animal shelter that is like nothing she has ever seen. It is full of magical creatures like unicorns and dragons. Clover's summer is now far from terrible, but she must keep her job a secret. When the youngster is left in charge for several days, she must deal with a pesky princess and a wicked witch while finding magical animals a good home. This story is cleverly told and Clover is an endearing protagonist. George writes descriptively, making readers feel at home in the cottage filled with visual wonders, delicious cinnamon toast, and surrounded by a forest carpeted with feathery moss. VERDICT This new chapter book series is perfect for young readers who love animals and fairy tales.—Kris Hickey, Columbus Metropolitan Library, OH - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 05/01/2015 Young Clover has had a series of pet misfortunes that convince her she is, despite her name, patently unlucky. When she enters the mysterious Woods to recover her missing bird, she instead discovers the Magical Animal Adoption Agency and ends up a volunteer, assisting the gnome-like Mr. Jams with such critters as a toad with color-changing warts, fairy horses, unicorns, and a dragon. When an emergency calls Mr. Jams away and Clover finds herself in charge, she is tricked by a witch, who then captures Clover, as she needs the blood of an unlucky child for a spell. The spell backfires, however, because Clover is not unlucky after all, and the girl manages to get back to the agency just in time to clean it all up for Mr. Jams’ return. This is the first title in a series, and the setup and plot are unfortunately contrived and unconvincing; besides the “unlucky” gimmick, Clover herself is a fairly generic character, as are her parents and Mr. Jams. What will interest kids, though, are the animals at the agency (the tiny fairy horses are utterly delightful) and the familiar but still engaging premise of a magical world existing alongside the real one. There’s also some genuine amusement in the idea of spoiled princesses coveting and then casting off unicorns, and savvy kids will draw their own parallels with real animals in real shelters. Frequent and slightly fanciful monochromatic art helps bring the text to life and adds to the magical atmosphere. Pearce and Stiefvater’s Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures (reviewed below) is a better book about caring for fantastical animals, but those who enjoy that title may want to give Clover a try as well. JH - Copyright 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

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