Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 05/01/2023 *Starred Review* In this follow-up to Swirl by Swirl (2011), author Sidman and Caldecott-winning illustrator Krommes team up again to introduce another beautiful—and useful—pattern in nature: branches. Beginning with tree limbs, the most obvious form of branches, poetic text and luminous scratchboard illustrations with refined watercolors explain the purpose of different branches from the branches’ points of view. The tree imagery continues with roots and transitions to flower petals. Recognizing that branches are not solely plant properties, however, water takes prominence, progressing from streams to rivers that form branches to the ocean. Still more branches carve through nature, accompanied here by strong verbs, from lightning “splitting the sky with energy” to cracks that “splinter rock and mud” to snowflake crystals that “sprout in ice.” A short lull in the text (“From small to big, / we repeat again and again”) combines with double-page illustrations to emphasize fractals and the breadth of branches before transitioning yet again to a range of animals (including humans) and their branched antlers, legs, toes, arms, wings, and even circulatory systems. Labeled plants and animals and a variety of perspectives, such as Canada geese’s aerial view of branching rivers, add pleasing elements, while concluding notes offer further information on how branches contribute to nature. This STEM concept book turns to STEAM through exquisite detail and design. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.