Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 08/24/2000 PreS-Gr 3-From the articles of clothing strewn across the front endpapers of this droll account of Olivia's escapades, readers may surmise that this porcine heroine is no ordinary youngster. Olivia is constantly on the move, dreaming big dreams and meeting every challenge head-on. She doesn't just get dressed, she tries on every outfit in the closet. She doesn't just dance, she envisions herself as a prima ballerina bowing before an adoring audience. When her mother teaches her to build sand castles, Olivia creates a towering structure that closely resembles the Chrysler Building in New York City. When she views a Jackson Pollack painting in the museum, she immediately concludes that she can do better and proceeds to try her hand at painting a wall at home. Her efforts earn her time out and a bath. The text is brief, funny, and sometimes ironic in relation to the highly amusing illustrations. The only touches of color in the pictures, executed in charcoal and gouache, are the bright reds of the clothing or objects used by Olivia. There are often many renderings of the young pig on each large white background, effectively demonstrating her boundless energy. Even at day's end, she is still going strong, negotiating the number of books to be read at bedtime. For a lively storyhour featuring feisty females, pair this with Kevin Henkes's stories about Lilly.-Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CT Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information. - Copyright 2000 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 11/01/2000 Olivia is an ebullient young porker who is “very good at wearing people out,” and her performance of even mundane tasks (“Olivia gets dressed. She has to try on everything”) bespeaks a passionate excess that makes that exhaustive talent believable. Rather than a story, the book offers a gallery of Olivia adventures from a museum visit (the starstruck Olivia fancies herself a Degas ballerina) to a bedtime readaloud (a Maria Callas biography) and finally sleep, but Olivia’s forceful character is nearly a story in its own right. Though there’s the merest whiff of adult Manhattanite archness to the enterprise, Falconer’s succulently concise text and personably porcine illustrations have genuine child appeal and perspective. Main impact honors go to the art: the largely dichromatic palette (almost all illustrations rely on charcoal shades of black with brief accents of red gouache) features an endearingly top-heavy Olivia prancing around on her hind legs, an audacious ham on the hoof. The art does much with little, using minimal lines and ear position to make Olivia one expressive pig, and the elegant layout floats spot art across glossy expanses of white space. Olivia’s fetchingly upturned nose and dogged—pigged?—determination will make her plenty of young friends. - Copyright 2000 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

Booklist - 08/01/2000 *Starred Review* Olivia, a delightful little pig, is Everychild. She's good at lots of things, especially wearing people out--including herself. When she gets dressed, she tries on everything; at night she's ready to go to sleep, but only after four stories. She's a kissing cousin to Kevin Henkes' Lilly. Unlike the Lilly books, there's no real plot here, and that's too bad. But the spacious design of the book; the appeal of the strong, clever art; and the humor that permeates every page make this a standout anyway. Falconer, a painter and New Yorker cover artist, renders Olivia's world in charcoal with dollops of red brightening the pages. Playing dress-up, Olivia stands in front of a mirror wearing red heels, red lipstick, and a red bow tying up her ears. (Little brother, Ian, the copycat, stands behind her, lipstick smearing his mouth and shirt.) When Olivia gets dressed, it's a two-page spread of her in a red ballerina dress, a red bikini, red earmuffs and mittens, a red ball gown--17 outfits in all. The oversize pictures can be seen clearly in story hours, but pouring over them more than once may be the most fun of all: kids will see themselves in Olivia. (Reviewed August 2000) - Copyright 2000 Booklist.