Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 03/01/2025 PreS-Gr 1—This beginning reader opens with a young boy carrying a teeming box of toys. Short sentences and repeated words punctuate his play until he notices that his little sister is playing with a blue car. "I want it," he declares and takes the toy. As he continues to play, his collection of toys growing larger and larger, his sister helps herself to a toy dragon on the margins. Once again, the boy declares, "I want it," and this time a fight ensues before he wins it back and promptly forgets about it. Yet again, the girl takes a neglected toy, this time a stuffed rabbit. When her brother announces, "Mine!" she responds, "I want it. I want it. I want it," the font growing larger with each repetition. At this, her brother acquiesces, and they share the toys with a jubilant "Let's play!" The characters' faces are expressive, and Meisel cleverly frames the illustrations to emphasize the disparity in the siblings' cache of toys. Both characters cue as white. The front of the book includes a list of phonics features. VERDICT The relatable story and structured repetition of both vocabulary and plot elements makes this a solid choice for emerging readers.—Lauren Strohecker - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.