Bound To Stay Bound

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School Library Journal - 02/01/2015 PreS-Gr 2—"Spy Guy was a spy. But not a very good one." Readers observe a boy knocking his head on the table as he's trying to hide under it, sending a lamp to the floor, and startling his sleeping cat. In an effort to improve his spying skills, he visits "the Chief"—his dad—who gives him a series of rhyming pieces of advice ("if you seek to sneak, try not to speak") that he attempts to follow, with mixed results. Finally, the Chief answers the boy's plea for "the secret to spying" with a challenge: Spy Guy needs to successfully sneak up on the Chief. With this mission finally accomplished, Spy Guy has yet another rhyme to share: "The secret to spying is never stop trying." Santoso's illustrations are the highlight of this amusing, if light, picture book. The large amount of white background space allows readers to focus on details like Spy Guy's wide variety of facial expressions and the various moods of the cat, whose story is told exclusively in the illustrations. A spider, which is never mentioned, appears on every page, allowing readers to do some spying of their own to find it. VERDICT Fluffy fun that promotes visual literacy and will make a positive addition to interactive storytime collections.—Jill Ratzan, I. L. Peretz Community Jewish School, Somerset, NJ - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 05/01/2015 Children who love to play at being spies in their own homes and neighborhoods will appreciate the question posed by this hilarious and heartening book: What does it take to be a good sneak? Spy Guy is a little boy who yearns to be a spy, but he’s terrible at it. For one thing, he’s noisy; even his shoes squeak. For another, he knocks over a stool with one foot while stepping on the cat’s tail with the other. But Spy Guy persists. He consults with “the Chief” (his father), who gives him pointers, like the need for quiet footwear—“Great sneakers need great sneakers.” Santoso’s wonderfully noirish illustrations make this book fun and engaging, as do Young’s rhyme schemes and wordplay. Finally, Spy Guy succeeds in his mission of sneaking up on the Chief and learns the great lesson of perseverance is to “never stop trying.” Readers will also want to check out Jeanie Franz Ransom’s nursery-rhyme mystery, What Really Happened to Humpty? (2010). - Copyright 2015 Booklist.

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