Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 06/01/2020 Laurie Krasny Brown and her husband, Marc Brown, again join forces to introduce social and behavioral concepts to young readers through the dependable lens of dinosaurs. They approach the idea of democracy by breaking it into key values kids will recognize in everyday life. Examples of sharing lead to the larger ideas of inclusion, kindness, respect, and equal rights and how, by extension, kid citizens should “look out for all your neighbors.” The approachable illustrations implement cheery comics panels featuring anthropomorphized dinosaurs in a variety of relatable scenarios to explain fairness and its relationship to rules and laws, voting as a means of choosing and expressing individual opinions, and the tricky differences between truth, opinion, and belief. The final core concept is that of free speech, which draws upon many of the previous tenets. In the final three spreads, the Browns apply all of the above to democracy in the U.S., encouraging kid citizens to practice its principles in their own lives and be involved in their communities at any age. - Copyright 2020 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 08/01/2020 K-Gr 2—The team that produced the "Dino Tales: Life Guides for Families" series provides an introduction to civic values. Watercolor illustrations are paired with simple text that highlights important features of democracy, including equality, voting, elections, and freedom of speech. Readers will learn why it's important to treat people with respect, to look for truth in what they read, and to be honest with one another. The dinosaurs show readers how they can act out these principles of democracy at school and home, and also offer examples of how they can be active in the future. Overall, the book has some hits and misses. Sometimes it seems closer to a social-emotional resource than one that educates youngsters about the fundamentals of civic duty. In the "Be Honest" section, the reminder that "you are expected to be honest and tell the truth" is heavy-handed and out of place. The tone of these cartoon-style illustrations, paired with the overgeneralized text, could make it difficult for young readers to connect this narrative to their own experience and what it means to be a citizen. Issues of justice, equality, discrimination (a T. Rex is denied service in one illustration) could have benefited from more comprehensive coverage. VERDICT This glossy and overly simplified text has noble intentions but is a misleading introduction to democracy. Not recommended.—Louie Lauer, Jefferson Elem. Sch., Fargo, ND - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.