Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 02/01/2020 Gr 1–3—Molly deals with compulsive tendencies often associated with OCD or ASD, but refreshingly, she is not labeled or diagnosed. Her parents and close friends understand, accept, and affirm her. However, Molly has a problem. She spies a jar of Skittles on her principal's desk, and she simply must know how many Skittles are in that jar—or she will never get the jar out of her head. Her friends Simon and Rosie understand, so together the trio hatch a delightfully creative plan that will allow Molly to count the Skittles. The normalization of compulsive tendencies is extremely well executed here. Molly's voice is authentic and relatable, and the text is enhanced by lively, entertaining illustrations. Twelve small boxes at the end of each brief chapter are "filled in" as the narrative moves forward, providing structure and encouragement to readers wanting to track their progress. Yet some may feel that the book ends on an odd, unresolved note. Young readers often roll their eyes at overly didactic resolutions where adults finally prompt a protagonist to "do the right thing," but Watson firmly rejects this trope. Molly secretly swaps the jar of Skittles from her principal's desk with a different jar of Skittles, and her parents' reaction to learning the truth is to help Molly eat the Skittles --- a wryly humorous ending to take with a grain of salt. VERDICT Hand to young readers who adore silliness, and those who deal with compulsive tendencies.—Sara White, Seminole County Public Library, Casselberry, FL - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 01/01/2020 Encouraging emergent readers with progress notes at each chapter’s end, this series kickoff introduces a diverse trio of third-grade friends with complementary traits. When Molly—who says things get stuck in her head sometimes, in reference to a habit of separating breakfast Froot Loops by color and an insistence that her socks be stored flat rather than rolled up—decides that she just has to find out exactly how many Skittles are in the jar on the principal's desk, her tablemates Rosa, a math whiz, and gung ho Simon help her concoct a funny, ingenious scheme to spirit the jar away and take a count. Kissi adds a two-color illustration of the trio in action, a fanciful diagram, or a bit of arithmetic to almost every page of the well-paced, well-spaced narrative. Watson folds in unobtrusive behavior modeling by endowing his young narrator with peers and parents who are sensitive to her special needs, and, along with other enrichment activities at the end, engages young coconspirators with a challenge to come up with feasible alternative ploys. - Copyright 2020 Booklist.