Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 02/01/2018 PreS-Gr 2—Poor Elephant has a terrible itch on his back and just cannot scratch it on his own. So, he seeks the help of an assortment of animals. Each one fails to relieve him of his itch: Snake has no hands, Sloth is much too slow, and Croc is just plain untrustworthy. Finally Elephant comes across Hedgehog whose prickly back makes an excellent back scratcher! A funny surprise ending will have audiences laughing out loud. Simple yet expressive illustrations help highlight the humor of the story and Elephant's anguish. VERDICT A funny read-aloud suitable for any classroom or library.—Jasmine L. Precopio, Fox Chapel Area School District, Pittsburgh - Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 02/01/2018 A young elephant has an unreachable itch and can’t get satisfactory help from the other animals. Mr. Turtle won’t try. Mr. Crocodile readily agrees, but when the croc smiles broadly, displaying his sharp teeth, the elephant declines the offer. Mr. Snail is slimy, Mr. Hippo bumps instead of scratches, and Mr. Sloth is too slow. Eventually, the elephant grabs a porcupine with his trunk and scratches away. Relief! When the elephant is done, he tosses the porcupine aside, and it becomes lodged in the ground, developing an unreachable itch of its own. Mr. Sloth comes to the rescue . . . maybe. The expressive text and illustrations act together to make the elephant’s frustration clearly evident. The brief dialogue-bubble text is almost unnecessary since the action is clear from the characters’ body language, but it holds its own, increasing in size as the elephant becomes agitated. Accomplishing the simplest task can sometimes be extremely daunting to a child, so there is much they can identify with in this elephant’s dilemma. - Copyright 2018 Booklist.