Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 04/01/2022 Gr 4 Up—Ordinary moments sparkle with imagery, beauty, and wit in this illustrated collaboration between former U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser and noted poet Connie Wanek. The introductory poem, "A Disappointment," defines the rest of this collection, which is organized according to the four elements: Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. Jones opens the scene with a fox zooming off page, a snowy hill and bare trees behind it. The poem is on the right of this spread, and the speaker states seeing a winter tree "clowning around" on one leg. Jones's art, paint that is rendered digitally, is muted and whimsical, delicately nuanced to illustrate a dancing tree for those who want to see. Although the speaker's friend replies it is "all in my imagination," it's clear the disappointment is for those who wish to no longer imagine. The 27 poems that follow invite readers to examine the every day in another way: Meteor showers are cat's claws scraping the sky, tadpoles are lively punctuation marks, and harps are golden moths bursting with song. Each poem has a full spread with fanciful illustrations matching the capricious tone of the work. An afterword, with an extra poem by each author and an invitation to imagine, is included. An enjoyable choice for introducing poetry and literary devices for all ages. VERDICT A must purchase for all libraries.—Rachel Zuffa - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 03/01/2022 *Starred Review* Featuring poems ranging from whimsical to reflective, this illustrated collection by poets Kooser—former U.S. Poet Laureate—and Wanek spans an array of topics drawn from the natural and human worlds, which here sometimes intersect in unexpected ways. Grouped into sections by elements—Fire, Water, Air, Earth—the free-verse poems showcase sundry activities, objects, wildlife, and more. “Fire,” for example, includes meteor showers and summer heat (“I was the crimson crayon / melting in a sunny car, / the color of firecrackers and flags / and Mars”); “Water” spotlights boats, tadpoles, and reflective puddles. Others incorporate droll wordplay, like “Flyswatter” (“Fly’s an active verb, present tense, / always present, always tense”), or humorously celebrate books as sandwiches (“Oh, sandwich delicious . . . / The folded pita of your covers, / a layer of mayo your table of contents”). Lovely, richly hued and textured paintings, a blend of evocative abstract and figural images, complement and reflect the poems’ multifaceted sensibilities. Whether more esoteric or concretely imagistic, train-of-thought musings or deeper introspections, the poems exploring varied subjects and in an array of tones convey that, with imagination, inspiration can be found anywhere, a sentiment echoed in the authors' afterword, which also encourages readers to write their own poems. An overall intriguing, often thought-provoking addition to collections, one poetry aficionados will likely revisit to discover and appreciate new meanings and connections in the verses—and in the world around them. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.