Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 10/15/2018 Fox leaves her den at nightfall and crosses the city park, looking for food. She chases a mouse down the sidewalk, but can’t catch it. The sight of a fox in a shop window distracts her, but when she steps toward it, her head bumps the glass. Soon she sniffs out a barbecue fire and finds some food that was dropped on the ground. Dinner! The moon illuminates the park as the fox carries the food home. From the First Science Storybook series, this picture book offers an interesting tale while integrating elements of a science theme: light. While Fox explores the night, different lights illuminate the scenes. An introductory note suggests that adults use the story to talk about concepts such as daylight (from the sun), moonlight (sunlight bouncing off the moon), streetlights (electricity), fire, shadows, and mirrors. And after the story, optional questions prompt children to consider those ideas. The text is very accessible, while the attractive mixed-media artwork uses color and light effectively to illustrate the narrative and support the science theme as well. - Copyright 2018 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 12/01/2018 PreS-Gr 2—In this series entry, Fox wakes up hungry in her dark, cozy den, but it's too light to go outside safely. Eventually, daylight turns to dusk, and the people of the city have all gone. She leaves her den in search of food. By the time she sets off down a path, the sun is completely gone. The audience goes along on the adventure with Fox to find her food. Shadows and light come into play. She finds a mouse! Happily, for the cute mouse and even the audience perhaps, the rodent is too fast. Fox is shown sniffing through a discarded pizza box. She bumps into her reflection in a mirror in a store window. Eventually, after a few potentially dangerous missteps, she finds her dinner in a backyard cookout. She is lead home safely by the light of the moon. After this story exposing light and dark ends, readers are asked to find examples of different light sources in the book. There are plenty. Full-page, mixed media illustrations are gorgeous, enhancing the story completely. VERDICT A worthy informational consideration for preschool units on light sources, nighttime, and urban foxes.—Anne Chapman Callaghan, Racine Public Library, WI - Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.