Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 11/01/2019 Growing up on a Georgia farm during the Depression, Jimmy Carter worked hard, helping in the fields and selling peanuts in the streets of nearby Plains. His best boyhood friend was Black, and Carter never forgot the unfairness of Jim Crow laws and customs. After attending college, marrying, and serving in the navy, he returned to run the family farm and then began a political career that took him from the Georgia senate to the governor’s mansion to the White House. As president, he worked for peace and justice, and afterward he continued to strive for a better world. Han’s line drawings are delicate, and the scenes are well composed, but the pictures do not capture Carter’s likeness. While that’s unlikely to bother children, it’s a drawback and a missed opportunity. Hegedus, whose previous picture-book biographies include Alabama Spitfire (2018) and Rise! (2019), writes with clarity and uses stories from Carter’s childhood to engage young readers while making significant points. The back matter fills in more details of his life and presidency. An informative introduction to Jimmy Carter. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 01/01/2020 PreS-Gr 3—This picture book biography depicts Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, as a hardworking hero. Carter grew up in Georgia in the 1930s during segregation yet maintained formative relationships with black members of his community, including his caretaker Rachel Clark and childhood friend Alonzo "A.D." Davis. As Carter and Davis grew older, they noticed how racism and Jim Crow impacted their friendship: "A.D. could no longer be himself around Jimmy." Carter realized that people were mistreated due to their race or class. He created a list of "Good Mental Habits" that served as his moral compass and eventually shaped his political future. Hegedus documents the trajectory of Carter's political career: a business owner refusing to perpetuate racial segregation in the state's school system, to a successful four-year run as governor of Georgia, to his win against President Ford in 1976. Though Carter's presidency lasted just one term, this book illustrates his positive achievements. Carter's continued humanitarian efforts, which resulted in earning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, end the narrative. Han's contour drawings are simple but provide a solid visual context. VERDICT An effective tribute to Carter's life and influence.—Jamie Jensen, Wayne Cox Elementary School, Roanoke, TX - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.