Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 07/01/2019 One look at the prickly, anger-flushed fellow scowling from the book’s cover is enough to understand why Hank (a cactus) and hugs don’t get along. He enjoys a solitary life in the windowsill of a desert hut, where he can survey the surrounding Southwestern vistas, beautifully painted by Goodrich in watercolors that capture the golden sands and sky fluctuating between peach-strawberry sunsets and crisp blue afternoons. One day, Hank’s peace and quiet is repeatedly interrupted (to his mounting frustration) by a variety of passers-by—cheerful Rosie the tumbleweed, a turtle, a jackrabbit, a coyote. But it’s not until a cowboy strolls past the now-fuming Hank and declares, “Seems to me, somebody needs a hug. Too bad nobody hugs a cactus” that Hank begins to question his grumpy attitude. When Rosie does Hank a favor the next time she bounces by, his grinchy heart blossoms with gratefulness, and . . . is that a hug on the horizon? Goodrich (We Forgot Brock!, 2015) delivers a funny story underscored by themes of friendship and kindness. An excellent storytime pick. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.