Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 02/01/2018 Gr 2–4—In 1917, two English cousins named Elsie and Francis claimed to have seen fairies in the woods near their home. When their parents refused to believe them, they took their father's brand-new camera to photograph the fae. For the next several decades, this "proof" sparked intrigue and debate about whether fairies were real, or if the girls had pulled off an ingenious deception. Nobleman's text is a rich overview of this bizarre historical controversy; he deftly navigates topics like childhood in the early 20th century, the media and the influence of celebrity culture, and the history of photography, without ever weighing down the central narrative. Wheeler's illustrations are colorful and evocative and effectively propel the action of the story forward through the decades it covers. They also combine seamlessly with the actual photographs, which are included in the text, enabling readers to examine the images for themselves. VERDICT A strong nonfiction choice that manages to present the actual events and illustrate more broadly the 20th century.—Maryanne Olson, Queens Borough Public Library, NY - Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 04/01/2018 In early twentieth-century England, cousins Elsie and Frances stoked nationwide belief in the impossible: fairies. With a bubbling beck in the backyard of their Cottingley, England, estate, the girls spent the summer of 1917 exploring. And though Elsie and Frances often returned home with dreamy accounts of their fay companions, Elsie’s father remained unconvinced. Then the girls snagged one irrefutable photo—and another. In the first and best-known snapshot, teensy sprites prance before an unfazed, flower-crown-adorned Frances. Soon, word of the girls’ photographs caught the attention of supernatural specialist Edward Gardner, Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle, and England’s popular Strand Magazine. But just how did Elsie and Frances do it? No spoilers here. While Nobleman’s (The Chupacabra Ate the Candelabra, 2017) chronological narrative, a seamless blend of both frolics and facts, fuels suspense, Wheeler’s ethereal watercolor-and-ink illustrations expertly fold the girls’ famous photos and original Strand articles into a world of lush countrysides and unstoppable whimsy. Part accidental trickster tale, part unforgettable fairy tale, all true, this will have kids reaching for cameras of their own in no time. - Copyright 2018 Booklist.