Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 05/01/2019 *Starred Review* In Central America, a child and her grandmother sit in Granny’s garden and watch the many ruby-throated hummingbirds nearby. That evening, the girl is flying home to New York City, while below her plane, a sailor watches a hummingbird sleeping in his boat’s rigging. At dawn, it flies away, “tiny and fearless,” over the Gulf of Mexico. More hummingbirds fly north to the eastern U.S. and parts of southern Canada, closely observed by people along the way. After the birds build nests and raise families, they prepare for their southbound journey that fall. Meanwhile, the girl finds a tiny white eggshell in the park and sends it to Granny. An accomplished science writer for children, Davies contributes a text that weaves strands of story and fact into a satisfying whole. Ray’s radiant watercolor-and-pencil artwork creates landscapes that are full of life, yet orderly and graceful. The girl’s story creates an engaging element for young children, but the book’s text focuses more on the tiny birds and their extraordinary migration. Tucked into spaces within the illustrations, sentences in smaller type provide avian factoids related to the scenes. Lightly combining narrative with relevant information, this beautiful picture book is brimful of quiet charm. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 06/01/2019 K-Gr 3—The book's narrative opens in a garden, as a girl and her grandmother bond while watching and listening to hummingbirds. But the girl must leave for the United States and say goodbye to her grandmother, just as the ruby-throated hummingbirds must say goodbye to Central America and fly north. Factual details about hummingbirds are showcased in bolded text without detracting from the story. Though short, the back matter consists of an informational page, index, and bibliography that supplies additional information. Davies seamlessly weaves facts about hummingbird migration into a fictional narrative, with each aspect of the book enhancing, but never outshining, the other. Ray's bright watercolor illustrations bring out the warmth in the interactions that characters have with one another and with the hummingbirds. Though the girl and her grandmother are almost immediately separated, the hummingbirds' journey from Central America to New York and back again make that great distance seem less vast. Perfect for a read-aloud, this picture book is educational while providing opportunities for readers to connect with a story about human migration and family relationships. VERDICT The book, a colorful blend of fact and fiction, raises the bar for its genre and will leave many readers hopeful to hear the "Tz'unun! Tz'unun!" of hummingbird wings in their own gardens. A wonderful addition to any informational picture book collection.—Lauren Hathaway, University of British Columbia - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.