Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 01/01/2023 Gr 1–4—Starla Jean and her chicken Opal Egg (who she walks on a leash and treats somewhat like a pet dog) explains that every person is an expert at something. Starla Jean considers herself a chicken expert and shares that her sister loves bubbles, whether it's a bubble bath or blowing them. Her neighbor Dani likes to go looking for buried treasures in the dirt. While on a walk with her sister Willa and Opal Egg, Starla Jean finds a bead and begins to wonder who it belongs to. Finding the bead's owner becomes an entertaining mystery with a satisfying conclusion. This is a great introductory series for children who are beginning to read on their own. Main characters are cued as white. VERDICT A third entry in this pleasant series that showcases the daily adventures of the ever-curious Starla Jean, with quirky humor, large font, and delightful illustrations. - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 05/01/2023 “There is one thing you need to know if you’re going to walk a chicken,” writes young Starla Jean. “You can go on a walk with a chicken . . . but you can’t take a chicken on a walk.” And indeed, as Starla Jean chases after her pet chicken, Opal Egg, it proves the truth of that insight, darting off and ultimately finding several small, mysterious, colored beads that turn out to be from a lost necklace belonging to Dani, an elderly treasure hunter. But where is the shiny white opal that went with the beads? Leave it to Opal Egg to pull off one more pullet surprise by pulling out the missing stone from Dani’s mop of shiny white hair! Being a “sister expert” as well as a “chicken expert,” Starla Jean sees a bubble party as the obvious next step, and Kang gathers the entire cast into a final full-spread scene to fill the air with soap bubbles. An amicable exploit for emergent chapter-book readers who are fans of the vivacious hen and her equally lively keeper. - Copyright 2023 Booklist.