Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 04/01/2012 The Lewins take readers on a trip to Iceland’s Westman Islands, where Atlantic puffins return each spring to breed and raise their young, which are called pufflings. In August, when the adult puffins fly away for the winter, their fledglings must fend for themselves. Each year some fly into town rather than out to sea, but the children and adult volunteers of the Puffling Patrol rescue many of the vulnerable birds. After accompanying a team of researchers studying the puffins’ burrows in cliffs above the sea, the Lewins follow two children, twins Erna and Dáni, as they find a wayward puffling, take it home for the night, visit the natural history museum’s rescue station the next day, and help with the release of many pufflings. Wonderfully vibrant and expressive, the book’s illustrations include large watercolor paintings and smaller ink drawings with watercolor washes. Pair this large-format picture book with Bruce McMillan’s Nights of the Pufflings (1995). - Copyright 2012 Booklist.

Bulletin for the Center... - 05/01/2012 Using text, field sketches, and full-page watercolor illustrations, husband and wife team Ted and Betsy Lewin detail their visit to the island of Heimaey (off the coast of Iceland). They accompany two child members of the “Puffling Patrol” (who rescue newly hatched puffins that become disoriented and lost on their way to the sea) and observe as the children find, care for, and release the baby pufflings. Although the Lewins’ narrative is somewhat dry, the clear writing and measured tone help make this exotic event accessible for children who have no prior knowledge of this locale or annual event. Kids will also appreciate the child-hero aspect of the tale, and animal lovers will particularly enjoy following the details of the puffling rescue and release process. Occasionally, stiffly posed human figures or garish coloring cause the otherwise effective full-page watercolor illustrations to stumble, but the field sketches (done in pen and ink and watercolor) are wonderfully vigorous and expressive with just a minimum of detail; the two different illustrative styles clash more than complement, but kids eager for the puffling details may not be bothered by the visual mismatch. The Lewins’ outsider perspective gives this title a slightly different approach than McMillan’s photo-illustrated Nights of the Pufflings (BCCB 3/95), which drops readers right into the action; while McMillan’s is the more gripping account of the two, the Lewins’ book is certainly a useful companion title. End matter includes additional facts about puffins and the island, a bibliography, and a helpful glossary and pronunciation guide. JH - Copyright 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

School Library Journal - 07/01/2012 Gr 2–5—The Lewins are on the road again, this time traveling to the isolated island of Heimaey, just off the coast of Iceland, that is home to about 4300 people and one of the largest puffin populations in the world. They are here to chronicle the annual ritual of the rescue of young puffins that become disoriented during their maiden flight to sea and instead land in town, unable to escape without assistance. The first third of the book offers good background information, but reads like an adult travelogue: "From our airplane window we see the mist-shrouded Westman Islands…." The child-centered drama kicks in when the text turns its focus on eight-year-old twins Dáni and Erna, part of the puffling patrol that rescues the young birds and then releases them. Ted Lewin is a master at depicting light and shadow, and his majestic watercolor paintings effectively display the windswept vistas in cool blues and greens and indoor and nighttime scenes in warmer tones. His concluding sequence of spreads of the pufflings' successful release is breathtaking. These larger vistas work harmoniously with Betsy Lewin's more informal, loosely composed pen-and-ink field sketches that fluidly capture the antics of the comical seabirds. Handsomely designed, this inherently engaging story sends an important message about the difference the island children make in helping save just one precious puffling. It covers the same rescue introduced in Bruce McMillan's appealing Nights of the Pufflings (Houghton, 1995), with more background information on the island, its volcanic activity, and the current plight of the pufflings (there has been a decrease in sand eels, their main source of food). A comprehensive glossary and pronunciation guide to the Icelandic words round out a handsome package.—Caroline Ward, The Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT - Copyright 2012 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.