Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 01/01/2020 When a young African American girl’s bedtime reading routine is interrupted by her father’s busy work schedule, she fires him as storybook reader and posts an ad for a new one. Charmingly, a number of recognizable children’s book characters respond, from the Three Little Pigs to Goldilocks, each one humorously failing in a manner that mirrors their own stories—Sleeping Beauty conks out mid-sentence, the Gingerbread Man runs off with the book, and Cinderella gets soot on the pages. Things are looking bleak until the final candidate nails his interview and gets hired. Kids will have fun trying to figure out the identity of this victorious reader, who looks suspiciously familiar. Readers will easily engage with this adorable book, both through its familiar literary characters and the young girl’s love of reading with a parent, making it a welcome addition to the collections of librarians or reading specialists. Other relatable tales about loving to read include Sarah Stewart’s The Library (1995) and Sandra Pinkney’s Read and Rise (2006). - Copyright 2020 Booklist.