Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 05/01/2015 Gr 2–5—This enchanting picture book biography examines the life and work of 19th-century French entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre. Fairy tale-like in tone, the first few pages will easily draw in children, as Smith describes the actions of an old hermit who was considered a local eccentric by those in his village for his habit of speaking to animals and collecting insects ("Whether he was a sorcerer, or simply a madman, no one could agree."). The villagers were shocked, however, when Fabre received a visit from the president of France. Readers are then taken back in time to learn about Fabre's childhood, education, and ever-present interest in the natural world, as well as his unconventional teaching and writings on insect behavior. Indeed, he often shocked fellow scientists with his bizarre findings. Smith's engaging text conveys Fabre's zeal for his subject, while Ferri's gorgeously detailed watercolor and pencil illustrations of plant life and insects beg readers to stop and look both at the pages as well as at the natural world around them. Historical and author's notes and a useful time line add further context. VERDICT A must-have.—Jennifer Wolf, Beaverton City Library, OR - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 06/01/2015 When the president of France arrives in the small village of Serignan, no one expects he is there to announce that the bug-crazy old man who lives there has been nominated for a Nobel Prize. Nineteenth-century entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre, “the insects’ poet,” spent his life enraptured by the natural world, studying it and sharing his knowledge whenever he could. His journey from enthusiast to lauded scientist, however, was rife with setbacks. Smith recounts Fabre’s early years spent observing “small wonders,” before discussing his time as a teacher, a position he lost due to his controversial views. Eventually, he earned his reputation through prolific, lyrical, and accessible scientific writing. Ferri’s pencil-and-watercolor illustrations are marked by vitality and light, and readers will love seeing the different bugs crawling about the pages. Further information on Fabre’s life is appended in a historical note and time line. A comprehensive and tender account of one of science’s lesser-known figures that will have kids itching to grab their bug jars and get outside. - Copyright 2015 Booklist.

Bulletin for the Center... - 07/01/2015 At a time when naturalists were more inclined to describe the physical characteristics of species than observe their behavior, nineteenth-century Frenchman Jean-Henri Fabre translated his childhood fascination with insects into the work of a very long, if often quite secluded, life—so long and secluded, in fact, that neighbors were thoroughly baffled when the French president arrived to visit the elderly man at his home. That opening scene segues into a flashback of Fabre’s life. Frequent moves and family sorrows threatened to derail his studies, but he nonetheless established a teaching and writing career in which he reported frankly on Nature’s seamier side: “When the authorities found out what he was teaching, they were not pleased. The bloodthirsty exploits of ant warriors? The secret love life of plants? Before he knew it, Henri was out of a job.” He persisted in his writing, though, adopting an authorial style of such grace that his Souvenirs entomologiques earned him a nomination for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Although the picture-book format, with its whimsical exaggeration of the insects that would dominate Fabre’s life, may suggest a primary-grade audience, the lengthy text and details of the naturalist’s studies are better suited to middle-graders, who will benefit from the two-page historical note and the timeline that sets Fabre’s life in the context of world events. A brief list of sources is also included. EB - Copyright 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.