Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 12/15/2020 Purple-haired Betsy K. Glory, daughter of a sea-dwelling mermaid and a land-bound ice cream maker, adores her life on “an island that’s been left off of the map of the world,” but she also misses the adventures she had with a now-absent Mr. Tiger, circus ringleader extraordinaire. Be careful what you wish for: Mr. Tiger returns in time for the famous Festival of the Sea Dragon, but so does a band of treasure-seeking pirates, and when a precious sea-dragon egg is poached—er, stolen—by the waggish crew, Betsy must help her beloved island and its quirky inhabitants. This sequel is a more straightforward adventure than the preceding Mr. Tiger, Betsy, and the Blue Moon (2020), but it’s still chock-full of delicious descriptions and fantastical wonders. The text, once again, is rendered in a dyslexia-friendly font, and the utterly charming blue-toned illustrations are a perfect complement. Frequent perspective shifts and the sheer number of characters may be slightly daunting for younger readers, but it’s nonetheless a pleasure to slip back into Betsy’s whimsical world. - Copyright 2020 Booklist.