Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 09/15/2015 *Starred Review* In this picture book, we follow two children and their cat through their day. It is a simple day that includes stopping at a fruit stand, going to school, playing in the park, meeting people, and eventually heading home hand in hand, “always under one sky, our sky.” In this charged but quietly lyrical poem, written and read for President Obama’s second inauguration, Blanco pays tribute to the nation by following the sun as it glides across the country, pouring light on everything that is extraordinary about humanity: our stories, our “silent gestures moving behind windows,” our dreams, languages, sorrows, labor, and talents. It celebrates, without fanfare, the opportunity, diversity, and unity that is America. Pilkey, author-illustrator of the Caldecott Honor Book The Paperboy (1996), supplies illustrations that bring this many-layered poem to life for young readers through his recognizably playful style and brilliant colors. Striped bands of sunshine follow the children, always steady and protective. Blobby, rounded trees wave in the breeze, while wobbly-looking buildings and bridges provide context and movement. It seems as though the children have walked across the country and through all four seasons between sunrise and sunset. There are themes, motifs, and details that will make this a book to be read and reread, or simply looked at—for the images tell many stories, too. - Copyright 2015 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 11/01/2015 Gr 1–5—This visual representation of the poem that Blanco wrote in honor of President Barack Obama's second inauguration is a lyrical celebration of the vastness of our country, our world, and our diversity. Best known for his "Captain Underpants" (Scholastic) series, Pilkey turns his painterly skills to an impressionistic portrayal of the images evoked in Blanco's words: children at play, bustling trucks, and people farming, gazing at the sky, giving thanks, and living in hope. Children may not comprehend all the details of the incredibly rich text ("the last floor on the Freedom Tower/jutting into a sky that yields to our resilience"), but with the help of a teacher, parent, or librarian, readers will understand the overall message and perhaps be comforted by the certainties described in what may seem a very uncertain world. VERDICT A special historic moment, caught in lyrical words and joyous illustration, and an excellent choice for educators seeking options to explore diversity.—Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.