Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 07/01/2017 *Starred Review* In an infectious, bouncy rhythm, Fogliano playfully captures the antsy excitement for birthdays in a pitch-perfect kid voice. In between a refrain of “When’s my birthday? / Where’s my birthday? / How many days until / my birthday?” Fogliano’s verses cover food and presents, who to invite, and, of course, the all-important cake. Robinson’s thickly painted collage illustrations feature cheery children and friendly creatures in birthday hats, with always happy faces enjoying the delights described in Fogliano’s lines. Amid all the anticipation and happy planning, the text takes a realistically worried turn when the waiting seems so endless that the narrator wonders whether he or she will have a birthday at all. Luckily, after a near-sleepless night, the day finally arrives: “It’s the daytime! / Here’s my birthday! / Happy happy! / Hee! Hee! Hee!” Robinson’s signature style—bold collages depicting kids and animals in blocky shapes—is the ideal vehicle for Fogliano’s frolicsome text, and the two together evoke a quintessentially childlike glee, which adults will recognize and little ones will revel in. There might be a more perfect picture book about birthdays out there, but you’d be hard-pressed to find it. - Copyright 2017 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 07/01/2017 PreS-Gr 1—An exuberant ode to children's anticipation for the most special day each year: their birthday. Fogliano's insistent verse wastes no time and doesn't even stop for traditional capitalization—just like the young narrators, who want to know, "when's my birthday?/where's my birthday?/how many days until/my birthday?" They continue breathlessly, wondering if they will "sing so happy happy?" on the big day. The exaggerated excitement is echoed in Robinson's clever use of scale, as in a spread featuring a gigantic present tied with white twine. A little girl reaches up to pull the string, dwarfed by its size. The long and tall trim size is also ideal for displaying a towering, swimming pool—size birthday cake so large that the young birthday boy needs a ladder to reach the candles. A muted palette of slate blue, mustard yellow, forest green, and burnt sienna, sometimes appearing on a rich black background, reflects the festive tone of the text without tipping over into what could be—in the hands of a less skilled poet and artist—overwhelming or obnoxious in its fervor. Instead, readers will appreciate and immediately recognize the joyful expectancy. VERDICT Buoyant and perfectly childlike, meant to be read aloud with gusto and a keen sense of urgency. A first purchase for any library, and a ready-made gift for home collections.—Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal - Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.