Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 08/01/2023 K-Gr 2—In a book that comes right from the heart, Gray explores a young Black boy's experience during a typical day in his neighborhood. Readers meet the unnamed main character as he is waking up to get ready for school. Throughout the day he plays with friends, attends classes, and heads to the local shop for candy. Though an uneventful day, there is an underlying message about the struggles that Black children encounter in their everyday lives. Various classmates question his voice for not sounding "Black" enough and assume he is a good basketball player. The story really shines when the boy is home with his family, where his culture is accepted, validated, and celebrated. Mora's beautiful illustrations enhance the view of the hero's environment and experiences. Although the focus of this book is on a Black family, children of all ethnicities and gender identities will be able to relate to the main character feeling out of place for something that outwardly casts him as "different" from others. VERDICT A beautiful, simple look into one child's typical experience that all readers can learn from and relate to.—Lauren White - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 09/01/2023 In daily moments—mostly happy and familiar, a few perplexing and difficult—a young boy offers cadenced lists of things (beloved objects, favorite foods and games, daily routines, oft-repeated parental phrases) that define him and his world. Many scenes including pencils and pieces of writing paper with scribbled notes and an ever-present composition-style notebook reveal the boy as a storyteller and dreamer. Multiple-award-winning illustrator Mora creates a vibrant world: double-page spreads pop with bright, detailed collages of painted and patterned paper, including well-considered swatches of printed paper (a spread with kids suffering through a long school day features a clever backdrop of completed test answer forms). Text is presented in a hand-lettered style, and key phrases are highlighted with enlarged illustrated or collaged letters. In his picture-book debut, poet Gray shines a light on a contemplative child who sees his family ethos as a place of reassurance and pride and recognizes his own belonging there as a reader and storyteller. A satisfying and affirmative read about self-awareness and family. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.