Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 06/01/2017 Known for the Miss Spider series, Kirk envisions a fantasy world where baby monsters create companion trucks and then all go together to Truckeroo School. “Before they make their diaper wet, / they build a friend, a truck—a pet!” Adults may pause at the images of Budge, a rather large monster driving a truck with a pig’s head, or Persmella, a “dainty lass admired for spewing stinky gas,” dancing on a toilet truck, but the message that the brightly colored monsters come in all shapes and sizes is nevertheless subtle and effective. As monsters, the characters do not follow human expectations on manners or behaviors, but by the end of the story, more conventional norms emerge. The school day is full of imaginative truck-monster fun, but the last few images show parents thoughtfully maintaining their mechanical pals, and the little monsters trying to learn how to be as adept as their parents, or even better. Humorous couplets keep the narrative moving at a lively pace, and the watercolor-and-gouache illustrations are full of comic detail. - Copyright 2017 Booklist.