Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 03/01/2019 PreS-Gr 2—Lubna's best friend is a shiny and smooth gray pebble. It was the first thing she found when she and her father arrived in their new country, just before they landed in the World of Tents. As she navigates this new world, Lubna knows with certainty that her daddy and Pebble will keep her safe. Pebble smiles up at Lubna and always listens when she tells stories of home, her brothers, and the war. Pebble brings Lubna comfort when everything else is uncertain. When a young boy named Amir arrives at the tent village, Pebble acts as a bridge between the two children, and they soon become close friends. Shortly after, when Lubna and her father have found a new home, Lubna must leave her new friend behind, and she realizes that Amir may need the pebble and the comfort it brings even more than she does. This tale begins and ends with stunning illustrations full of emotion. This heartrending and beautiful picture book explores the long, hard journey that displaced families endure and also reminds us of the power of friendship, especially in the face of uncertainty. VERDICT A truly important story about the refugee crisis and the power of friendship. Highly recommended.—Elizabeth Blake, Brooklyn Public Library - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 03/01/2019 *Starred Review* Some children have security blankets, some have teddy bears, others have invisible friends. Lubna has Pebble. It is telling that this child would rely on so ordinary and ubiquitous an object for comfort: she has nothing else. Before we can wonder why a little girl’s best friend is a pebble, we learn that she found it when she and her father arrived in a World of Tents. Night skies make silhouettes of the hulls of boats that dwarf tiny Lubna on the beach from where she and her father make their way to their new tent home. The fact that they are refugees might be lost on the youngest readers as this significant fact is only subtly conveyed in the text. But a quiet sense of loss pervades the story and is amplified when another small child, Amir, arrives. Close-up renderings of Lubna’s face, her father’s strong arms, and Amir’s drooped shoulders convey the weight of trauma the children carry. Yet there is also a tenderness and optimism in their playful delight and shared love of Pebble. A warm palette of indigo and ocher, with occasional blasts of glowing orange and red, mirrors the cocoon of security that the children build for each other. Lubna and Pebble is a timely story of displacement, loss, friendship, and kindness—universal messages with timeless appeal. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.