Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 08/25/2023 K-Gr 2—This heartwarming book celebrates the power of storytelling. While getting ready to enjoy his nightly story, a young boy wonders who reads to the creatures outside. When he realizes that the beasts have no one to read to them, he goes outside to gather them all. Once they have gathered around, he reads a story until they fall asleep. The rhyming couplets on each page beautifully capture the comfort found in storytelling, making this a perfect book for nightly read-alouds. Santoso's digital and pencil illustrations showcase spooky, but sweet, monsters such as vampires, giants, and ghosts. VERDICT A perfect read-aloud for Halloween or monster story hours.—V. Lynn Christiansen - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 08/08/2023 The parents of author Sterer used to own and operate an upstate New York wildlife discovery center. As a child, he unlocked the cages and let the animals out at night, and he does much the same thing here—only this time, the animals are monsters. This eerie picture book, which can be read for Halloween or whenever a child wants a delicious scare, stars a pale young boy who loves to be read to but wonders who reads to the beasts at night. To help them with this, he and his mother carry a book from their cottage in the middle of the woods. At the top of the highest hill, in a scene reminiscent of “Night on Bald Mountain” from Disney’s Fantasia, the boy summons vampires, skeletons, flying dragons, ghosts, giants, witches, mummies, goblins, ghouls, and trolls. The illustrations, done digitally with handmade pencil textures, deliver a wildly creepy feel. The monsters fall asleep when he reads to them, but this book may rev up children at bedtime. Reserve for the scare-proof. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.