Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 02/01/2023 Ari has always arranged things, first organizing his building blocks as a baby. He loves to stack, organize, and display items to his satisfaction: pillows, toys, and pots and pans. But not everyone appreciates Ari's habit of arranging items in the grocery store and the hardware store; even moving people around in an exercise class doesn't exactly have the satisfying outcome he envisions. One day, Ari decides to create his biggest display yet—he’ll assemble the zoo animals in a pyramid. Unfortunately, that attempted organizational feat doesn’t end well at all. After the resulting debacle, he begins to witness people having fun in a way he might have once called chaotic, but starts to think might be fun. As he comes to the conclusion that not everything can or should be arranged, Ari finds he feels freer and less anxious. Full-page, saturated color illustrations are heavily detailed and filled with all the myriad items Ari feels compelled to organize. Children will want to closely study the pictures to discover all they contain. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 02/24/2023 PreS-Gr 3—Ari, a young brown-skinned child, loves to align everything and has been like this from birth, positioning and placing everything in order. Instead of the expected chaos that comes with toddlers, Ari puts blocks in line, and even puts the fleas on the dog in order. Ari asks neighbors to put their garden and their flowers and plants in order, and makes the same request at the supermarket and hardware store, the swimming pool—and the zoo. In Vernon's debut picture book, scenes convey both the humor and more serious side of Ari's neurodiverse efforts without ever judging this child. It's a wonderful way to introduce the subject of different behaviors to children, and to make the point that it's okay not to be "typical." VERDICT This will be a hit at story hours, as children watch and wait to see how Ari's efforts to organize everything unfold. Wonderful, and recommended.—Annmarie Braithwaite - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

School Library Journal - 02/24/2023 PreS-Gr 3—Ari, a young brown-skinned child, loves to align everything and has been like this from birth, positioning and placing everything in order. Instead of the expected chaos that comes with toddlers, Ari puts blocks in line, and even puts the fleas on the dog in order. Ari asks neighbors to put their garden and their flowers and plants in order, and makes the same request at the supermarket and hardware store, the swimming pool—and the zoo. In Vernon's debut picture book, scenes convey both the humor and more serious side of Ari's neurodiverse efforts without ever judging this child. It's a wonderful way to introduce the subject of different behaviors to children, and to make the point that it's okay not to be "typical." VERDICT This will be a hit at story hours, as children watch and wait to see how Ari's efforts to organize everything unfold. Wonderful, and recommended.—Annmarie Braithwaite - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 02/15/2023 Ari has always arranged things, first organizing his building blocks as a baby. He loves to stack, organize, and display items to his satisfaction: pillows, toys, and pots and pans. But not everyone appreciates Ari's habit of arranging items in the grocery store and the hardware store; even moving people around in an exercise class doesn't exactly have the satisfying outcome he envisions. One day, Ari decides to create his biggest display yet—he’ll assemble the zoo animals in a pyramid. Unfortunately, that attempted organizational feat doesn’t end well at all. After the resulting debacle, he begins to witness people having fun in a way he might have once called chaotic, but starts to think might be fun. As he comes to the conclusion that not everything can or should be arranged, Ari finds he feels freer and less anxious. Full-page, saturated color illustrations are heavily detailed and filled with all the myriad items Ari feels compelled to organize. Children will want to closely study the pictures to discover all they contain. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 02/24/2023 PreS-Gr 3—Ari, a young brown-skinned child, loves to align everything and has been like this from birth, positioning and placing everything in order. Instead of the expected chaos that comes with toddlers, Ari puts blocks in line, and even puts the fleas on the dog in order. Ari asks neighbors to put their garden and their flowers and plants in order, and makes the same request at the supermarket and hardware store, the swimming pool—and the zoo. In Vernon's debut picture book, scenes convey both the humor and more serious side of Ari's neurodiverse efforts without ever judging this child. It's a wonderful way to introduce the subject of different behaviors to children, and to make the point that it's okay not to be "typical." VERDICT This will be a hit at story hours, as children watch and wait to see how Ari's efforts to organize everything unfold. Wonderful, and recommended.—Annmarie Braithwaite - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.