Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 02/01/2017 This companion to Mr. Postmouse’s Rounds (2015) finds the rodent letter carrier on vacation with his wife and three children. Their travels take them to a forest, a beach, the high seas, a volcanic island, a desert, a jungle, the city, the mountains, the Arctic, and aloft, as they journey on foot and by cruise ship, camel, and hot-air balloon. Dubuc’s detail-filled cartoon-style illustrations are reminiscent of Richard Scarry’s work. Each spread explores one habitat, using colorful and appealing artwork and brief text to move the plot along. Most intriguing for kids, however, are the cutaway views of the various dwellings the family encounters. The desert spread, for example, depicts the mice riding on camels, swimming in an oasis, and delivering a letter to Mr. Lizard, whose house (interiors revealed) is a multiroom saguaro cactus. Unfortunately, penguins cavort alongside a polar bear in the glacial spread, but for the most part, animals appear in appropriate habitats. An engaging choice for browsers, this will also be useful for ESL students. - Copyright 2017 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 03/01/2017 PreS-Gr 2—In this second book about the little mail carrier, Mr. Postmouse closes the post office and takes a vacation with his family, bringing a few parcels for delivery, because "a postmouse's rounds are never done!" From the first page, delighted readers will enter effortlessly into Mr. Postmouse's world of tiny cross-sections and effluvia. The first stop is the forest. Viewers look inside Aunt Claudette's tiny camper and a tent the Postmouse children are tidying for the night. But what is that in the corner? Tiny stories-within-the-story: Hansel and Gretel just arriving at the witch's house, a ladybug roasting an aphid, some rabbit scouts on a hike. Throughout, there are opportunities to name everyday items: key, acorns, a tiny blue car. For older readers, there's a "wanted" poster for a masked robin…could it be Robin Hood? The mice continue their travels to the beach, onto a cruise ship (check out the homage to Babar), to a tropical island (is that Richard Scarry's Huckle Cat peering from behind a bush?), to a desert oasis, and more. Dubuc's text consists of short, descriptive dialogue and sentences that move the family from place to place; the real tale is the one that readers will tell as they make connections among the details. VERDICT Great for vocabulary development, text-to-text connection, stamina-building, and storytelling; pair this charming, calming selection with Scarry's "Busytown" titles, Macmillan Picture Wordbook, and Lisa Brown's Airplane Book.—Lisa Lehmuller, Paul Cuffee Maritime Charter School, Providence - Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.