Bound To Stay Bound

View MARC Record
 

Full Text Reviews:

School Library Journal - 06/01/2017 PreS-Gr 2—In this story within a story, an unnamed narrator attempts to tell the classic tale of "Little Red Riding Hood," only to be repeatedly interrupted by a sheep named Arnold. Frustrated that sheep are often in the background of books and not active participants, Arnold begs to be cast as Little Red Riding Hood. Following his initial success, he makes further suggestions about setting and dialogue and proposes that the other roles be reassigned to his animal friends. In one ponderous section, the plot visits uncharted territory as Arnold is redrawn and made thinner by a guest artist. Throughout, readers meet a muskrat and warthog, who are also looking for gigs as storybook characters, and, at last, a buffalo, who readers learn is the reteller Arnold has been interrupting. Arnold may be adorable, but his pun-heavy demands on the narrator are more annoying than cute, and the narrator's responses come across as tired and disinterested. Though the text falls flat, Atkinson's artwork is charming, and every sketch and brightly painted layered spread featuring allergy-laden Einer the muskrat is particularly delightful. VERDICT This is a fun lesson in storytelling with cheerful illustrations that may amuse kids, but ultimately the leading player's irritating behavior makes him an unsympathetic character. A quirky and over-the-top retelling.—Lauren Younger, New York Public Library - Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 07/01/2017 What at first seems like just another fairy tale takes an abrupt turn when a sheep named Arnold interrupts. Arnold wants desperately to be in the story (“We sheep are usually just in the background, grazing and minding our own business. Boring”), and eventually, the narrator relents. Gamely, he tries to get about telling the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but Arnold has his own ideas, interrupting to change the setting and cast his friends: Einer the muskrat as the wolf, and Frankie the warthog as Granny (“She’d be great. She’s won a granny award”). But with so many wild cards in the mix, it isn’t long before the story goes totally off the rails, much to the narrator’s dismay. But Arnold got them into this mess—maybe he can find a way out? Atkinson’s brightly colored cartoon-style illustrations depict Arnold as a red-caped, energetic figure—and as a slightly smaller sheep when he has an illustrator make a few cosmetic adjustments to his wool. A fun, meta, fractured fairy tale. - Copyright 2017 Booklist.

View MARC Record
Loading...



  • Copyright © Bound to Stay Bound Books, Inc. All rights reserved.
  • Privacy Policy