Bound To Stay Bound

Other - 10/21/2024 After two Hungarian Jewish resistance fighters are arrested in 1942 Nazi-occupied Paris, they survive with a singular focus: "Get through one day and then on to the next. One day at a time. One day after another." This refrain sustains the young man and his father through interrogation, then internment at both the Compi?gne camp and the Drancy transport camp. At Drancy, they learn of deportations to "Pitchipoi," an unknown place of no return. Vowing "We’re not going to Pitchipoi," they join others digging an escape tunnel. When it’s discovered, they are deported along with 1,200 other Jews in a train made up of cattle trucks bound for Auschwitz, but pry open a window and escape. In this direct, unadorned telling from Rosen (Bear’s Big Dreaming) and Phillips (Alte Zachen/Old Things), emotionally spare text respects readers’ ability to bear witness, while ink, charcoal, and pencil drawings convey both immediacy and enormity, plunging readers into a world where nothing is assured. An author’s note concludes. Ages 7-10. (Jan.) - Copyright 2024

School Library Journal - 12/06/2024 Gr 3–6—Inspired by a writing prompt for the 2022 commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day, this book tells the story of a father and son who survived the Holocaust. Hungarian Jews hiding in Paris, the two were arrested and sent to a Nazi concentration camp. In an attempt to escape, they began digging an underground passage to freedom. However, before it was complete, they were caught and placed on a train to Auschwitz. As the train slowed in a tunnel, 19 prisoners, including the father and son, pulled the bars from a window and escaped. While the survivors' harrowing account ends with hope, the book does not shy away from the atrocities of WWII. The cruelty and horrors of the Nazis are briefly addressed, as are the numbers of those who were killed on that final train ride. Illustrations evoke the style of Quentin Blake, but without the whimsy; instead, they employ somber colors to reflect the sadness and destruction of the story. The writing is concise yet powerfully descriptive, and the repeated refrain of "one day" emphasizes life's unpredictability and the need for resilience. VERDICT A moving story appropriate for a younger audience. This is an essential purchase.—Katherine Rao - Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.