Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 11/01/2022 *Starred Review* Slavery is never an easy topic to address, especially with children. It's decidedly unfair, its details are horrific, and many adults avoid the subject completely. Alexander's poem offers an opening for discussion of this now-unlawful institution that continues to make an impact on American life today. He describes happy lives spent in Africa, chained existences aboard crowded ships headed for America, and backbreaking work picking cotton and curing tobacco. He also notes the strength, pride, and resilience of the enslaved that enabled people to attempt escape and ultimately survive. You do it / by being brave enough / to lift your voice, // by holding / history / in one hand // and clenching / hope / in the other. The text flows lyrically, making effective use of repeated phrases and prose conversations between students and a teacher who appear between stanzas. Coulter's mixed-media artwork complements the text powerfully. Of particular note are the clay sculptures (mostly human forms), superimposed against painted wood backgrounds, that add both depth and realism to the images; the spread of chain-bound hands photographed against a serene blue ocean is particularly striking. Other images, done in charcoal, depict the teacher telling this story and the modern children's emotional responses. Beautifully crafted and brutally honest, this offers a thoughtful introduction to a necessary topic.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Alexander's popularity and considerable accolades will have children and adults reaching for this title. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 12/01/2022 PreS-Gr 3—In lyrical verse, Alexander tells the powerful story of American slavery and African resilience through the eyes of a teacher navigating students through this horrific period in American history. The shifting narrative moves between the teacher's account and the students' reactions, with Alexander magnifying the unfolding terror of a people stolen from home and thrust into slavery: "About sly men/ from cold places/ scheming/ and laughing/ on tall ships…/ while people/ shackled below,/ crammed in/ small, hot spaces,/ cry and/ sometimes die." Coulter's stunning mixed- media artwork illustrates the unflinching brutality of slavery and the beauty of a resilient people who "hold history in one hand and clench hope in the other." Classroom scenes are sketched in black against a warm yellow background, with expressive students and teacher working through the difficult lesson. Author and illustrator notes provide further context. VERDICT An excellent and essential first purchase for all collections; whether for curriculum-building or classroom-sharing, this book is unforgettable.—Rosemary Kiladitis - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 11/01/2022 *Starred Review* Slavery is never an easy topic to address, especially with children. It's decidedly unfair, its details are horrific, and many adults avoid the subject completely. Alexander's poem offers an opening for discussion of this now-unlawful institution that continues to make an impact on American life today. He describes happy lives spent in Africa, chained existences aboard crowded ships headed for America, and backbreaking work picking cotton and curing tobacco. He also notes the strength, pride, and resilience of the enslaved that enabled people to attempt escape and ultimately survive. You do it / by being brave enough / to lift your voice, // by holding / history / in one hand // and clenching / hope / in the other. The text flows lyrically, making effective use of repeated phrases and prose conversations between students and a teacher who appear between stanzas. Coulter's mixed-media artwork complements the text powerfully. Of particular note are the clay sculptures (mostly human forms), superimposed against painted wood backgrounds, that add both depth and realism to the images; the spread of chain-bound hands photographed against a serene blue ocean is particularly striking. Other images, done in charcoal, depict the teacher telling this story and the modern children's emotional responses. Beautifully crafted and brutally honest, this offers a thoughtful introduction to a necessary topic.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Alexander's popularity and considerable accolades will have children and adults reaching for this title. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.