Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 07/01/2018 *Starred Review* Chicken returns from school excited about her teacher’s statement that “every story has an elephant of surprise.” Papa explains that the teacher meant “an element of surprise . . . the part of the story that makes you say, ‘Whoa! I didn’t know that was going to happen.’” As he reads her “The Ugly Duckling,” a page turn brings a plot twist: the previously avian, now pachydermian protagonist calls, “SURPRISE! I’M AN ELEPHANT!” Similarly, in “Rapunzel” and “The Little Mermaid,” the heroines turn into blue, golden-haired elephants. Even Papa’s original story concludes, inevitably, with Chicken adding an elephant. Like its Caldecott Honor Book predecessor, The Interrupting Chicken (2010), this picture book portrays an affectionate but determined parent bested by his confident, creative offspring. Created with “watercolor, water-soluble crayon, china marker, pen, opaque white ink, and tea,” the illustrations capture various parts of the story in different styles. Stein contrasts the richly colored, comfortable scenes at home with the pale, restrained, traditional storybook illustrations, which are in turn jolted by the addition of the colorful, comical Elephant of Surprise and Chicken herself. Following the same basic structure as the original story, this sequel is fresh, funny, and satisfying in its own way. A treat for Interrupting Chicken fans. - Copyright 2018 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 09/01/2018 PreS-Gr 2—The precocious Chicken and her papa are back in this sequel to Interrupting Chicken. Chicken has learned at school about the element of surprise in storytelling. She interprets this as the elephant of surprise. When Papa reads classic tales aloud to Chicken, she interrupts to point out the "whoa!" moment. The "whoa!" moment always includes an elephant interjected into the story. Papa decides to tell his own story, without elephants. Despite his efforts, an elephant ends up in his story, too. A mixture of watercolor, crayon, marker, pen, white ink and tea magically come together to create delightfully uncommon illustrations. Vibrant and warm colors bring Chicken and Papa to life. Spreads from the storybooks Papa reads aloud, including text and classic illustrations, immerse readers in the tale. The story page illustrations also include Chicken's artistic additions, drawn onto the page, of an adorable blue elephant complete with chat bubbles. When Papa makes up his own story, Chicken illustrates it for him. These illustrations again depict the story pages with Chicken's childlike drawings in crayon. The prose matches the vibrancy of the illustrations with humorous dialogue between Chicken and her patient Papa. VERDICT Multiple award-winning author and illustrator Stein has created a noteworthy title for library shelves in addition to his already beloved collection of picture books. A terrific choice for one-on-one and small group sharing.—Mindy Hiatt, Salt Lake County Library Services - Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.