Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 05/01/2017 PreS-Gr 2—This autobiographical picture book follows a gentle series of experiences that led the author to be who she is, "a writer." Speaking directly to readers, she begins with, "If you were a little girl who listened to stories over and over and over." MacLachlan continues in this vein, recounting things that helped make her a writer, including constantly reading, secretly listening to adults from under the dinner table, trying to make her dog and chicken speak, and having a great-grandmother who loved the prairie earth. Sheban matches the author's recollections with graphite, watercolor, and colored pencil illustrations. He deftly makes use of white space, a muted palette, and subtle humor. The picture of MacLachlan moving her dog's lips is guaranteed to make readers smile. VERDICT Just the right amount of text paired with spot-on illustrations makes this a great book for aspiring writers or a lovely read-aloud for anyone. Sure to be popular because of the author's recognition.—Catherine Callegari, Reston Regional Library, VA - Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 05/15/2017 *Starred Review* In this beautiful picture book, MacLachlan offers a string of brief, poetic vignettes that add up to an impressionistic memoir (real or imagined) of childhood and a recognition of how early inclinations, experiences, and family ties contribute to identity. A woman addresses a child in a companionable tone, beginning with the inviting words: “If you were a little girl / who listened to stories / over and over / and over”—and read books day and night, and hid under the dinner table listening to grown-ups telling secrets, and once ran away with a little boy who promised to find you a white horse, and returned when he didn’t—“you might be someone like / me, / a writer.” The evocative telling of these and other memories becomes as important as their content. And the artwork raises the book to another level entirely. Viewers are transported into the narrator’s past and then brought back to the present on the last page, which shows her as an adult, writing. Created with watercolors, colored pencils, and graphite, Sheban’s well-structured illustrations are gently shaded, subtly colored, and suffused with soft light. Lovely scenes are balanced with amusing ones, giving this expressive picture book its irresistible, down-to-earth charm. - Copyright 2017 Booklist.