Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 10/01/2020 PreS-Gr 1—This gentle tale focuses on traditional Thanksgiving themes: community, friendship, and helping others. Doerrfeld (The Welcome Wagon) brings readers back to the town of Cubby Hill, where different kinds of animals live together peacefully. The story begins at the Giving Festival, a community event where animals arrive bearing food, games, and musical instruments. Cooper, a bear cub, is there with his grandmother, and they have brought honey jars to give to others. Cooper is giving out the jars by himself for the first time, and his grandmother reminds him to be careful since these are the last jars of honey for the season. As he sets out to deliver the honey at the fair, Coopers gets sidetracked by animals who need help with various things, and some jars get broken. At the end, Cooper thinks he is in trouble; instead, the other animals gather around him to express their gratitude, his grandmother beams with pride, and the others assist him with the rest of his deliveries. The digital illustrations are childlike and somewhat plain, though creatures of all kinds are shown smiling and interacting helpfully with each other. VERDICT While this is not an essential purchase, it has a positive theme of helping others that makes it a pleasant addition for collections expanding their Thanksgiving fare.—Melanie Kletter, School Library Journal - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.