Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 04/01/2022 Toddler-PreS–A boy revels in being a creature of the wild, living off the land and teaching his little sister the ways of survival. His narration leans into a sense of rugged isolationism: "What will become of us? No one knows. All we know is that Mother Nature will take care of us." Meanwhile the illustrations slowly reveal the setting to be the children's own backyard, and the day ends with the sister abandoning their tent for a hug from their mother and a cozy bed. The combination of spare text with lush illustrations will engage very young children, while the disconnect between the boy's narration and the reality portrayed in the illustrations will intrigue and amuse older kids. The stubborn seriousness of the protagonist at maintaining his illusion, extending to calling his mother a "scavenger woman," creates the slowly building humor of the book. Lush watercolor illustrations, full of greens and browns, evoke the wilderness of nature and a child's imagination. Some children may be worried by a passage in which a "wild beast" (the family dog) is seemingly felled by one of the boy's arrows, after which he says: "We will feast tonight, Sister. The drumstick is the best part." The dog is pictured happily panting next to the playing children on the subsequent page. VERDICT Celebrating the power of a child's imagination and outdoor exploratory play, this book is particularly well suited to a read aloud and group discussion.—Elizabeth Lovsin - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 04/01/2022 For a boy and his little sister, the backyard becomes a place rife with opportunity for adventure. With his bow and arrows in hand, the mop-headed boy guides Sister on a journey of exploration and discovery. They investigate a “pioneer cabin” (their house’s porch), entering “silent, like the wind,” to avoid waking its occupant (Dad napping in a hammock). They perform an intrepid supply raid (from the pantry), and they even encounter a “puma” and a “wild beast”—the family’s cat and dog. At sundown, they assemble and settle into their tent, till startled by a visitor—Mom—whom Sister eagerly follows inside. And though the boy’s not quite ready to go home, perhaps their cozy bunk bed is just what he needs. The boy’s descriptive narrative, told with survivalist flair, is amusingly set against the siblings' actual experiences, depicted in lush watercolor-and-pencil illustrations, which also cleverly convey how nature can inspire imaginations. This affectionate portrayal of a brother-sister relationship also charmingly demonstrates how familiar settings and objects can—with a little creativity—make for big adventures. A strong pick for bedtime reading. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.