Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 06/01/2026 K-Gr 4—This delightfully spooky poetry anthology is all about Halloween. Each poem focuses on a different theme, featuring things like Mother Boo, the titular ghost storyteller, or more general Halloween topics, such as trick-or-treating, werewolves, or witches on brooms. There are a variety of poetry types, including rhymed couplets, limericks, and an alphabet poem. The artwork is done in mixed-media collage. The warm, autumnal color palette and the round, cheerful faces of the characters make this book a fun and nonscary way to celebrate Halloween. VERDICT This is a nice collection of poetry specifically for Halloween that will make an excellent addition to any library.—Debbie Tanner - Copyright 2026 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Publishers Weekly - 06/08/2026 VanSickle and Lounsbury give Mother Goose a holiday spin in this classic-feeling verse collection. An opening spread establishes the conceit, introducing readers to the residents of Spookytown: "They love a thrilling story-/ or better yet, a rhyme./ With the help of Mother Boo,/ the oldest ghost in town,/ I’ve listened to their spooky tales/ and written them all down." Varied forms subsequently pay melodic tribute to quintessential holiday symbols. "The Year in Moons" smoothly follows a familiar pattern across the 12-month cycle: "Snow Moon shines on fields of ice/ on wintry February nights." And abecedarian poem "Spelling" describes how "Ancient/ Books/ Contain/ Directions for/ Enchantments." Employing pencil and digital techniques, shape-based, scribble-textured drawings rely on a limited autumnal palette of ochre, mustard, and stormy grays to convey a sense of movement, for example of werewolves fluidly dancing and ghosts "a-spooking." The result is winningly timeless. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4-8. (July) - Copyright 2026 Publishers Weekly used with permission.

Booklist - 06/01/2026 Welcoming readers to “October County,” where “it’s always Halloween,” VanSickle serves up short verses that incline to the mild side of spooky, from a holiday counting rhyme that opens, “One, two, costume’s new / Three, four, door-to-door / Five, six, treats not tricks,” to a lullaby that soothes despite terrifying lyrics: “Werewolves dance / by the light of the moon / Hush little baby, / Mama’s home soon.” The best of the lot may be “The Pumpkin Parade,” which salutes the neighborhood wildlife that comes out to dine on jack-o'-lanterns after their makers go to bed. A few entries do take disturbing turns, such as one about a gleeful ghostly home invasion and another offering a loving witch mother’s ill-considered sentiment that her “ugga bugga baby” “smells like garbage in the sun.” In general, though, the loosely rhymed lyrics will beguile younger readers and listeners rather than creep or gross them out. Lounsbury’s illustrations follow suit[,] with moonlit views of smiling young figures in costume, dancing boojums of diverse sorts, and mostly benign–looking ghosts, witches, and jack-o'-lanterns. - Copyright 2026 Booklist.