Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 03/01/2019 What do you do when you’re a big, round polar bear and one of your four red tennis shoes is untied? Asking the seals for help doesn’t work—they swim away frantically. The whole bunny pack flees in alarm. Even the hordes of lemmings scatter in desperation. It's up to the white ptarmigans, who look askance at the discouraged bear and inquire: “Shoelaces again?” Then, a surprise: they untie the other three shoes, and the delighted bear jumps into the ocean. “He really needs to do that himself,” say the birds. But there's another surprise to come: when the lolling bear looks up from his icy swim, all he sees are the large feet of a big brown bear . . . with one untied yellow shoe! A circular story, for sure: children can imagine other animals with colored sneakers, going through the same dilemma. The almost-wordless picture book presents a simple lesson about problem solving. Every image is a double spread done in watercolor pastels and clean line drawings that portray the arctic animals’ distinct personalities. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 04/01/2019 PreS-K-What is a bear to do when his shoelaces are untied? In this charming picture book, a polar bear struggles with this very question. On the opening spread, a polar bear is shown sitting with a bright red sneaker on each foot, one of which are untied. He tries approaching multiple groups on animals like seals and hares, but everyone flops or hops away. Finally, two white birds arrive to help. "Shoelaces again?" they ask, and once Bear has confirmed his plight, they help him untie the other shoes. Once he has all of his shoes off he dives into the water, only to be interrupted by an "Excuse me," while the bottom half of a brown-haired creature with untied yellow shoes stands by the water. The extremely spars text and vivid watercolor illustrations make this a perfect book for toddlers and preschoolers in group settings and one-on-one. Children will enjoy explaining why the animals are running away from the bear and guessing at why the bear needs help. VERDICT A great addition to libraries who are looking to grow their storytime collection or have a need for more silly animal books.-Brooke Newberry, Winding Rivers Library System, West Salem, WI - Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.