Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 07/01/2021 PreS-K—Unconditional love in this tale comes in the form of a boy's dog. As his adoring family (mother, father, little sister, cat, and dog) looks on, the unnamed boy tells us, "I always do everything just right. Anyone can see that." He then covers all the ways he is a good boy including how he cleans his plate, is a great big brother, is brave and helpful, always shares, and, of course, never splashes in the tub. Then he gets real and he tells us the rest of the story: "But only my dog knows that." Some of the things the dog knows include that his boy feeds him his broccoli, doesn't share ALL his toys or follow every rule, looks for monsters under the bed, can dream big and burp loud, and only splashes in the tub when T. rex wants to. Despite or maybe because of this, "My dog knows everything about me, and loves me all the time." The first-person narration gets to the heart of every child—not all good, not all bad, but always complex and human. Mezoff's lighthearted, watercolors perfectly capture the boy, who has tan skin, as well his relationship with his dog with just the right amount of detail. VERDICT A sweet story about a boy and the dog who knows all his secrets.—Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Lib., Troy, NH - Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.