Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 12/15/2015 On the African savanna there are predators, there are prey, and everyone runs from the mighty lions. Diverse animals are spotlighted on two-page spreads, from the well known, such as leopards and zebras, to the lesser known, such as caracals and impalas. The language is simple, often just a few words describing the animal at hand moving through its environment. Meisel’s watercolor-and-acrylic illustrations depict each animal in warm, natural tones, revealing enough detail that the animals are recognizable but abstracting them enough that they are pleasantly cartoonish. While the narrative occasionally falters—the lines don’t quite scan as poetry, they are spare enough that they don’t tell a full story about the food chain on the savanna, and an illustration of all the animals sleeping peacefully in close proximity is a bit confusing after scenes of predators chasing prey—steadfast animal-lovers will likely enjoy this visually pleasing and gentle introduction to the food chain. The volume closes with some concise information on how fast various animals can move. - Copyright 2015 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 02/01/2016 K-Gr 2—It is night on the African savanna, and all the animals are sleeping peacefully, preparing for another day of hunting or being hunted. As the day progresses, a wide variety of beasts hop, slither, dash, scurry, swoop, and flee across the pages to the right. And then, as evening begins to descend, all the animals encounter the ultimate of African predators, the fearsome lions, and it is a mad dash to the left across the pages as they run for their lives. Through simple sentence structure, Schaefer highlights the action, with the verbs taking center stage and providing lots of opportunity for fun, interactive vocabulary lessons ("Jackals pounce, and giraffes lope. Hyenas bolt, and wildebeests gallop."). The watercolor and acrylic artwork is full of movement and humor, as creatures leap across the page or hide in the background, their eyes always on their enemy. A brief introduction sets the stage, and some notes at the end share sprint speeds of all the animals depicted. VERDICT A great resource for classrooms and libraries that serve the youngest elementary students.—Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA - Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.