Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 11/15/2019 Tabor, 2019 Geisel Award winner for Fox the Tiger (2018), offers a cozy take on the theme that one good turn deserves another. Snail, having spotted an entire patch of yummy cabbage on the other side of a road, slides onto the blacktop—only to be narrowly missed by a speeding car and then jostled by a crowd of rude ants. When rain starts to fall, though, kindhearted Snail invites the beleaguered ants into his capacious and comfortably furnished shell for tea. Later, he continues his determined journey until a crow forces him to take evasive action and another car leaves him so discombobulated that, when he reaches the road’s edge at last, he discovers himself back where he started. But perhaps that cabbage isn't out of reach yet. The softly hued illustrations, as simply drawn as the narrative is concise, close with a view of Snail’s pink shell, big enough to contain all his new friends. Even the antsiest reader will be beguiled into turning over a new leaf. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 01/01/2020 PreS-Gr 2—Snail is a likable protagonist who spots some cabbages and is determined to get one. Unfortunately, the field of cabbages he has spied is all the way across a busy road. Snails of course, are well known for being terribly slow. Nonetheless, he sets off across the road, never thinking about the adventures that await him. He just misses getting squished by a car and is nearly eaten by a crow. Reader gets a sense of Snail's slow pace by the slime trail he leaves behind. At one point he thinks he's traveled so far, but the slime indicates he has gone almost no distance at all. Rather than pointing out his slowness in the text, the slime trail lets the child figure out the joke. Despite being laser-focused on the cabbages, Snail stops to shelter some ants in his shell during a rain shower. In all the hubbub, he gets turned around and slimes his way back to where he started. The grateful ants return the kindness and bring a cabbage right to Snail. The artwork, done in watercolor and pencils, is just right for a picture book—it tells a good part of the story. Tabor's writing is also notable, especially when read aloud. VERDICT This is a wonderfully wacky story of determination, kindness, and friendship that children will love. It's funny and clever and provides a showcase for snails the world over. A must-buy for most libraries.—Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.