Bound To Stay Bound

Other - 08/04/2025 As a narrator endeavors to tell a simple story entitled "My First Dog," an endearing "piggypine" (part pig, part porcupine) attempts to insert itself into the tale. Appearing at the end of one story, the snout-nosed creature makes its way onto the page, looking for a spot of its own. Explaining "you’re an idea that never got finished," the unsympathetic speaker notes that another story’s about to start, then kicks off the tale of Ruby, a pale-skinned girl who loves dogs. As Piggypine insistently disrupts the telling, the increasingly frustrated narrative voice coldly informs, "There’s no room in this story for a piggypine." That verdict remains unchanged even after the creature offers more about itself (favorite food: "paper towels and honey"). But as the narrator attempts to kick Piggypine off the page, Ruby comes to the rescue, highlighting the way sometimes even a writer doesn’t know where things are going. Morris’s polished dialogue and Santoso’s emotive, colored pencil-like digital drawings tie together the narrative tug-of-war. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) - Copyright 2025

School Library Journal - 10/31/2025 K-Gr 3—Santoso's (Feeling Grateful) delightful illustrations bring to life Piggypine, a half pig, half porcupine who can't run, fly, or spell and whose favorite food is toilet paper with honey, but who is desperate to find his story. This book details Piggypine's increasingly intrusive efforts to force his way into a different story, "My First Dog," where a girl named Ruby gets her first dog unless Piggypine can find a way to alter the plot. In Morris's (Bear Came Along) throwback to meta favorites such as Jon Agee's There's a Wall in the Middle of This Book, Piggypine addresses both Ruby and an unseen narrator. As Ruby realizes that perhaps Piggypine might be the perfect pet for her after all, Piggypine rejoices in finding his own story at last. Terrific pacing and a clever use of endpapers bring text and illustration together in a way that is satisfying not just to Ruby and Piggypine, but to readers as well: Piggypine is perfect just being himself. VERDICT A great read-aloud that will have readers of all ages rooting for Piggypine to find his story. Recommended.—Rebecca Kirshenbaum - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.