Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 12/13/2024 K-Gr 4—Ezra Jack Keats Illustration Honoree Marwan (Where the Butterflies Fill the Sky) creates a powerful story about how the art left behind in history acts as a bridge to humanity's present, through Sakina's observant eyes. In the midst of a sandstorm, when Sakina cannot play at the beach, she is dragged to the local museum by her mother. While her mother gasps with delight over the beauty of its objects that evoke familiarity, Sakina is bored and relieved when they finally leave. However, three artifacts have climbed into her backpack: a clumsy winged-lion, a shy jaguar, and a little crocodile who scatters papyrus papers everywhere. While everyone rests, Sakina must contend with her wayward guests as they create chaos; eventually, she understands that the "thousands of years" they hold lie within her as well. Marwan's signature watercolor-and-ink illustrations are rich and vibrant, rushing to the edges with full-bleed pages that render captivating personalities in the guests to rival Sakina's own pert and thoughtful persona. Alternating between tangerine hues to ocean blues, the color ebbs with emotion. Set in an unnamed desert community, Marwan's rhythmic telling sparks the imagination as Sakini peels effendi near "waves like clementine peels" amongst the arfaj flowers and ziziphus trees; it is a place children will want to walk and hope that they, too, will find art that speaks to them of their history. Epilogue and glossary included. VERDICT A unique and stellar piece about taking time to look at what others have made before you, and to wonder, this is a mesmerizing glimpse into art and the past; a must for all collections serving children.—Rachel Zuffa - Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Other - 01/20/2025 On a day when a sandstorm’s "dust has made the city orange," young Sakina reluctantly accompanies her mother to a museum rather than the hoped-for beach. There, she sees only "old, boring, boring things," Marwan (The Strangest Fish) writes. But she is taken aback by her mother’s perceptions: "this looks like my uncle, that looks like my mom," Mama says in tearful wonder; "I used to have a ring like this. And doesn’t this look familiar?" Back home, Sakina finds three museum objects that have come to life and accompanied her home-"an eager, chubby crocodile, a cluelessly shy blue jaguar, and a clumsy lion with wings." Pursuing them through the residence leads her to a photograph of her grandmother and a realization that she, too, is a vessel of history and connection: "Thousands and thousands of years, in little Sakina." Watercolor and ink illustrations alternate between softly colored, whimsical sketches of reality and dreamy, impressionistic lapis images that show Sakina and her mother as part of the flow of time and generations. The protagonists are portrayed with pale skin and black hair. An author’s note concludes alongside a contextualizing note about how "language functions as a visual art in the Islamic world." Ages 4-8. Agent: Anne Moore Armstrong, Bright Agency. (Apr.) - Copyright 2025