Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 03/01/2018 PreS-Gr 2—Arfy, a floppy-eared mutt on Butternut Street, is on a mission to find his forever home. He writes a letter listing all of his admirable attributes (he is potty trained and has his own squeaky toy) to the people in the yellow house. The mail lady delivers Arfy's letter. Unfortunately, the people turn him down. Arfy keeps trying, writing more letters delivered by the mail lady. All write him back and decline his offer. Feeling sad and dejected, Arfy cries himself to sleep in his soggy box. When he wakes he finds a letter from the mail lady asking to be Arfy's person. Arfy, full of glee, sprints to the mail lady with his reply letter. Vibrantly colored digital illustrations, with no white space, captivate readers from the first page. Loosely placed shapes and textures artfully create Butternut Street. The story is told in illustrated, personalized letters. Arfy's are written in crayon and signed with a paw print. Readers will be cheer Arfy on and feel relief when he finds a person to love. The last page lists ways readers can help a homeless animal. VERDICT No bones about it; this humorous picture book will be a hit with storytime audiences and emergent readers.—Mindy Hiatt, Salt Lake County Library Services - Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 03/01/2018 Arfy, an optimistic mutt who sleeps in a cardboard box in the alley, writes a series of amusing letters aimed at finding himself a new home. First, he sends notes to the family in a cheerful-looking house and to the butcher. He brags to the fire department that he knows his way around a fire hydrant. He offers to guard the junkyard. He even tries a smelly, tumbledown house. After a series of rejections, he receives an unexpected offer from the mail carrier who delivered his letters. Will he be her friend through “snow, rain, heat, or gloom of night?” Yes! Written with wit and empathy, the story unfolds entirely through the dog’s correspondence and the energetic, colorful digital illustrations, which have a retro, cartoonlike sensibility. Just as Arfy’s letters shift in tone from buoyant to hopeful to disheartened, the replies shift from polite to remote to downright mean, making the story’s resolution even more satisfying. Sure to win the hearts of dog-lovers, this big, colorful picture book is fun for reading aloud. - Copyright 2018 Booklist.