Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 02/15/2023 Lang and Harper introduce animal mothers who go above and beyond in raising their progeny. Some build safe homes (strawberry poison frogs find separate pools for each youngster so they don't eat each other); others are great providers (denned polar bears feed their young for eight months); a few utilize unusual transport (alligators carry babies in their mouths); still others excel at protection (giraffe mothers kick); and many are excellent educators (river otters teach their young to swim). Harper's playful, comics-style artwork employs traditional and digital collage. The opening spread poses these moms together as if waiting to soar (à la Superman) off the page. Speech balloons permit these cheeky children and moms to remark about the scenes depicted, and formal text is kept minimal, allowing the colorful art and humorous commentary to take center stage, as when female elephants (allomothers) form a circle (Bums together, ladies!) around a young calf (Is this really necessary?). Appended with further information and resources, this will be popular with browsers and intriguing for primary science units. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 06/23/2023 PreS-Gr 2—The first book in the new "Animal Heroes" series, this title features amazing animal mothers. Each mom featured does something unique to care for their young. Some of the examples will especially delight young audiences as they feature extreme or what some might consider gross behaviors. For example, the red-knobbed hornbill mom seals her nest with mud and poop and stays inside with her young for three months. The strawberry poison frog separates her tadpoles so they won't kill each other. Illustrations using multiple panels per animal capture the supermoms and their young in action. Back matter adds more, albeit minimal, facts to the portrayals of these amazing animal mothers. Links to further resources as well as to the research process used in the making of this book are included. While the text does not include enough information for research, this title would be a useful introduction to a wide variety of animals as well as to the diversity of behaviors that can be found in the animal kingdom in relation to how animals care for their young. VERDICT Highly browsable and entertaining nonfiction.—John Scott - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.