Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 08/01/2011 *Starred Review* Opening Selznick’s new book is like opening a cabinet of wonders—the early museum display case “filled with a nearly infinite variety of amazing things” that is so central to this story. Following the Caldecott Medal–winning The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007), Selznick offers another visual narrative, one that feels even better suited to his inventive style. The beautifully crafted structure includes two stories set 50 years apart. The first, set in 1977, is told in text and follows Ben, who is grieving the sudden loss of his mother when he stumbles upon clues that point to his father’s identity. The second, told entirely in richly shaded pencil drawings, opens in 1927 as a young girl, Rose, gazes at a newspaper clipping. Rose is deaf, and Ben also loses his hearing, during a lightning strike. Both lonely children run away to New York City, and their parallel stories echo and reflect each other through nuanced details, which lead “like a treasure map” to a conjoined, deeply satisfying conclusion. Selznick plays with a plethora of interwoven themes, including deafness and silence, the ability to see and value the world, family, and the interconnectedness of life. Although the book is hefty, at more than 600 pages, the pace is nevertheless brisk, and the kid-appealing mystery propels the story. With appreciative nods to museums, libraries, and E. L. Konigsburg, Wonderstruck is a gift for the eye, mind, and heart. - Copyright 2011 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 08/01/2011 Gr 4–8—Using the format he so brilliantly introduced in The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Scholastic, 2007), Selznick tells two parallel stories. The first, taking place in 1977, is told through words. Ben Wilson lives in Gunflint, MN. His mother has just died, and he doesn't know the whereabouts of his father. Disaster ensues when Ben is struck by lightning and loses the hearing in his one good ear. He runs away from his aunt and uncle and goes in search of his father. Parallel to Ben's story, and told through illustrations, is the story of Rose, a deaf child who lives in Hoboken, NJ, in 1927, with her overbearing father. She lives in a room that feels more like a prison, where she keeps a scrapbook of her silent-film star mother and builds models of New York City. Both Ben and Rose escape to New York and are drawn to the American Museum of Natural History. It is there that they find the connections they are seeking. The way that the stories of Ben and Rose echo one another, and then finally connect, is a thing of wonder to behold. The dual text/illustration format is not a gimmick when used to tell the right stories; the combination provides an emotional experience that neither the words nor the illustrations could achieve on their own.—Tim Wadham, St. Louis County Library, MO - Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 10/01/2011 In a return to the form he used for The Invention of Hugo Cabret (BCCB 4/07), Selznick again explores multiple narratives through illustration, text, and the partnership between the two as they overlap or diverge to tell stories. Here, there are two tales, set fifty years apart (1927 and 1977), both about deaf children who are coping with loneliness and loss and attempting to define their identities. Rose’s 1920s search for her mother is told exclusively through illustrations, while Ben’s 1970s quest for family and home unfolds through text, until the two protagonists meet; the book then becomes more of a traditional graphic novel, with text and illustrations working in concert to tell a single narrative. Selznick’s distinctive monochromatic drawings, while always elegant and sometimes startlingly detailed, sometimes lack variety in long stretches of visual narrative, but the story will still keep reader/viewers absorbed. There is a vulnerability, a keen sense of nearly but not actually belonging, that is poignantly conveyed in both Rose and Ben’s journeys, and it is this common thread that will likely stay with readers as much as the nifty natural history collections (a long-term interest for both Rose and Ben) or glimpses into the way deaf children engage with the world. Notes include an explanation of how the author was drawn to exploring Deaf culture and natural history museums, and the places where the two pursuits converged to make this book. A selected bibliography is not always an exact age/reading match but will certainly send curious readers in the right directions. AS - Copyright 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.