Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 01/01/2016 PreS-Gr 2—Using only the first three letters of the alphabet, Rosenthal presents an ABC in the life of a child, as the text describing the beginning of the day ("all begins cheerily" and "amusing breakfast chatter") transitions to the busy child winding up his adventures at bedtime ("Alive. Beloved. Content."). Intricate wordplay throughout combines descriptive words, nouns, and verbs on some pages with just three separate objects on others. As an added challenge, a sprinkling of other ABC words represented by more pictures are featured throughout the book, such as the bed the boy is sleeping on, the blocks and ball on the floor, and the cactus in the corner. This creates an interactive game for children to participate in while listening to the story, which features just three well-chosen words reflecting a single day well spent. Lam's soft pastel illustrations transition from light and cheerful in the morning to darker toward the latter portion of the day. The last sentence ("Alas, Book Concluded") is represented in pitch black with a single hand pressing a blue light switch. Unlike more standard alphabet books featuring one word per letter on a page, this one skillfully demonstrates how to use a few of those letters to create clever, meaningful, and sometimes poetic phrases. An ideal follow-up would be to encourage children to create their own ABC phrases. A more ambitious endeavor would be to have them couple other three-letter combinations for future lessons (though X, Y, and Z might be too challenging!). VERDICT A unique and interactive book well worth sharing with a class while reviewing letters of the alphabet.—Etta Anton, Yeshiva of Central Queens, NY - Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.