Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 04/08/2022 Gr 1–4—A biography that young readers and those with burning questions about the world will be sure to enjoy of a lesser-known scientist and explorer, Alexander von Humboldt. As a child in Germany, Humboldt's fascination for creatures grows into a lifelong crusade to see the world. Though not encouraged by the adults around him, von Humboldt learns that being different and curious is just the way he was meant to be—a fine lesson for any young reader struggling to fit in. He appreciates everything outdoors, from the birds and volcanoes, to the Indigenous people of the Amazon, and the interconnection of everything to everything else. After a relatively straightforward rendition of a fairly colorful life story, the book also features a helpful time line to further educate those who want to know more about von Humboldt's family, his accomplishments, and his death. While his story is a beautiful one accompanied by intricate watercolor illustrations, some of the vocabulary may be a little too advanced for primary readers with words such as "solitude" and "vegetation" as well as place names such as Pichincha. However, this will serve as a fine read-aloud for older students in a library setting or as a biography for independent readers at the elementary level. VERDICT Science and nature fans alike will dig into this biography with wonder and awe as they learn about a real-life naturalist.—Kerra Mazzariello - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 03/01/2022 *Starred Review* This appealing picture-book biography introduces Humboldt as a curious German boy who grew up to become a naturalist and travel the world in order to understand it better. In 1799, he sailed to Venezuela, beginning a five-year journey to study the plains, rain forests, mountains, and volcanoes of South America while learning from the Indigenous people there. Though he was initially struck by the differences between European animals and plants and those in South America, his particular gift was the ability to see connections within the natural world. He formed valid theories explaining, for example, why there are chains of volcanoes. In the back matter, Novgorodoff, the writer-illustrator of Slow Storm (2008) and Refresh, Refresh (2009) and the illustrator of the graphic-novel version of Jason Reynolds’ Long Way Down (2020), notes her longtime fascination with Humboldt, who “established the foundation of modern ecology.” She uses the interplay of text and art beautifully. On one page, the young Humboldt is encircled by curving questions posed in a simple, childlike way, while a later picture shows him looking down from near the top of a mountain, literally and figuratively gaining new perspective. The story unfolds in an engaging text, illustrated with pleasing pencil drawings and vivid watercolor washes. A memorable introduction to Humboldt. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.