Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 11/01/2022 The very proper Miss Elizabeth Picklepop IV, with her MS in handwriting and PhD in table manners, is providing an equally formal introductory course on manners, for which the reader will receive a certificate upon completion. When she spills a bottle of ink, though, the puddle grows into an amorphous, squelching blob that follows her around and interrupts her lessons by spewing ink with a loud “BLURP!” She proceeds with grace in the face of many indignities until losing her calm and shouting at Blurp to leave, only to begin her final lesson—How to Be Considerate—and realize it's time for her to apologize. The story and its artwork are entirely and wonderfully original. Derby’s paint-and-photo-collage spreads are somehow both opulent and delightfully gross. And while the book does have genuinely helpful information on introducing oneself, making conversation, and having good table manners—as well as wholesome and heartwarming messaging about forgiveness and compassion—it’s all couched beneath a veil of deliciously yucky kid humor. Pair with Rowboat Watkins' Rude Cakes (2015) for another riotous manners lesson. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.

Booklist - 11/01/2022 The very proper Miss Elizabeth Picklepop IV, with her MS in handwriting and PhD in table manners, is providing an equally formal introductory course on manners, for which the reader will receive a certificate upon completion. When she spills a bottle of ink, though, the puddle grows into an amorphous, squelching blob that follows her around and interrupts her lessons by spewing ink with a loud “BLURP!” She proceeds with grace in the face of many indignities until losing her calm and shouting at Blurp to leave, only to begin her final lesson—How to Be Considerate—and realize it's time for her to apologize. The story and its artwork are entirely and wonderfully original. Derby’s paint-and-photo-collage spreads are somehow both opulent and delightfully gross. And while the book does have genuinely helpful information on introducing oneself, making conversation, and having good table manners—as well as wholesome and heartwarming messaging about forgiveness and compassion—it’s all couched beneath a veil of deliciously yucky kid humor. Pair with Rowboat Watkins' Rude Cakes (2015) for another riotous manners lesson. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 01/01/2023 Gr 1–4—Bespectacled Ms. Picklepop has several lessons on manners to impart to readers, a stand-in for her student. Soon after she begins her first lesson on "How to properly introduce yourself," however, a strange blue blob enters the picture and interrupts the lesson. She interacts with readers to ignore the interruption, but the blob is soon revealed to be a creature who can't help but disrupt every lesson with a loud sound and messy splashes of color. The creature, whose name is Mr. Blurp, is mostly noisy and causes a huge mess; however, its behavior ranges from troublesome, knocking Ms. Picklepop down, to perhaps frightening, when it eats a neighbor's pet. Human and creature eventually get along; after all Ms. Picklepop's final lesson is to "Be considerate." The illustrations, a combination of collaged photographs, colorful drawings, and "splattering ink and watercolor from across the room" (according to the publisher's information) miss the mark and tend to distract from, rather than enhance the humor in the story. Compounding this is that the book runs long. Humans are depicted with blue or green skin. VERDICT Though kids may giggle at the silly dialogue and potty humor, the story never quite comes together.—Sue Morgan - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.