Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 04/01/2021 K-Gr 2—A community pool is a place of wonder—mouth, nose, or ear bubbles all rise through water, filled with light. A small pink-skinned girl gives readers the tour, to follow the bubbles up until you break the surface, and dive back in. All in the pool celebrate life under water. One can under-sit, under-talk, under-stand, or complete an under-handstand. Similes communicate the motion amid bubbles "light as butterflies," as the girl urges her body up to "surface like a porpoise" and "shoot like a rocket ship." Families of all races play in the water as text and word placement highlight movement in digital paintings with swirls of dark and light-filtered color. Descriptive verse text with a scribble of clouds capture a bubble-filled watery world. It's easy for swimmers to dream and imagine the pool filled with saltwater depths of treasure before an ominous rumble announces a thunderstorm. The interruption provides both a visual downpour and an alliterative storm of words, and soon, everyone is back in the water. VERDICT A recommended first purchase for all libraries, this title will interest readers who love the world underwater, or those who recognize the freedom and confidence borne of immersive play.—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano I.S.D., TX - Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 04/01/2021 *Starred Review* A community swimming pool provides the setting for this upbeat picture book featuring a girl who loves the water. Accompanied by her mother and little brother, who sit at the water’s edge, the girl plunges in, swimming downward while bubbles rise up around her, as irrepressible as her pleasure in exploring this wondrous space. She looks so at home, despite the fact that activities as common as sitting, talking, and standing become strange underwater: “You under-sit. / You under-talk. / You under-smile. / You somersault. / You under-stand. / You under-handstand. / You. / You understand.” Thunder rumbles, emptying the pool until the storm passes. Then the girl plunges back in, rescuing her brother’s rubber duckie and playing with friends. Creating the mood as well as the story’s structure, Davies’ cascading lines of verse text read aloud beautifully, rewarding listeners with wordplay. Suggesting rather than defining the story, the text leaves space for Sánchez’s effervescent illustrations to work their magic. The imaginative underwater scenes are particularly fine. This high-spirited picture book, an excellent counterbalance to the many that deal with young children’s fears of deep water, celebrates the joy that many kids find in swimming and water play. A mesmerizing book that conjures up a summer day. - Copyright 2021 Booklist.