Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 04/15/2018 Kit and Kaboodle are two good little kittens, twins who live in a comfortable home with very nice parents and (if they only knew!) Spinka, a mischievous little mouse. Each chapter in this large-format picture book features Spinka playing tricks on the family. In “Sock Mischief,” she swipes one of Kit’s socks and one of Kaboodle’s. After shrinking them in the washer and dryer, she wears them herself. “Baseball Mischief” involves balls that mysteriously go missing before Daddy’s game, while in “Bath Mischief,” someone pours all Mama’s special bubble bath into the tub. Though the feline characters never seem to notice Spinka peeking out from behind a lamp or hiding behind the electric toothbrushes, kids listening to the simply told stories will enjoy spotting her in the big, colorful illustrations, which have a cozy look. Even the mouse’s tomfoolery can’t disturb the unflappable parents, who happily tuck their kittens into bed that night, while Spinka contentedly falls asleep planning more trouble for tomorrow. Good fun for young children. - Copyright 2018 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 05/01/2018 PreS-K—An odd offering from the prolific Wells. Three short tales feature twin kittens, Kit and Kaboodle (K&K), their parents, and a devious little mouse named Spinka. In the first story, the twins get socks from their grandma, but the sneaky rodent steals the socks from the washing machine. In the second, she swipes baseballs from the bag right before Kit and Kaboodle go play baseball with their dad, and then makes off with a muffin mysteriously called "blimpie." In the third, the critter uses up all of Mama Cat's Parisian bubble bath during K&K's bathtime and uses their electric toothbrush. As "Kit and Kaboodle never made any trouble," they aren't blamed for any of Spinka's doings. The feline family members hardly notice the mouse's misdeeds or the mouse, which makes her acts strangely passive aggressive—Spinka mostly gets mad about being excluded when the cats don't even seem to know she exists. This indifference makes her seem like an imaginary character, but alas she appears to be a real, if somewhat boring, nuisance. Wells's signature illustrations feature wide-eyed almost invariably smiling characters. Frames, word balloons, and solid-colored backgrounds make some pages feel cluttered. VERDICT These bland and largely pointless tales lack Wells's usual deft touch at understanding and depicting compelling and realistic child behavior. A supplementary purchase at best.—Yelena Alekseyeva-Popova, formerly at Chappaqua Library, NY - Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.