Bound To Stay Bound

Other - 11/03/2025 Hawthorne and Jewell introduce the concept of redlining in this digestible first-person story of community care. When young Olivia, who reads as Black, invites peers to attend their neighborhood’s annual block party, a pale-skinned friend replies, "I can’t. My mom says Main Street isn’t safe." Unsettled, Olivia chats with elderly neighbor Ms. Effie, who asks to hear more, then shares her own early experiences with having their home derided. A flashback depicts a young brown-skinned family being denied a bank loan, told "It just isn’t a good neighborhood." Noting that "we knew Main Street was just right for our family. It still is," Ms. Effie explains how the family became members of a co-op that approved their loan application, and how the U.S. government’s labeling neighborhoods where Black, brown, and Jewish people lived as "hazardous" denied resources to communities. "Even though the government abandoned us," Ms. Effie says, "we won’t abandon us." Employing gouache brushes and oil paint textures, Wilkerson’s airbrush-like digital illustrations depict a vibrant neighborhood lavished with its residents’ care. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author’s note concludes. Ages 7-10. (Jan.) - Copyright 2025