Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 06/01/2023 Gr 1–3—In the "Confetti Kids" series, May's family owns a flower shop. Like other stores in the neighborhood, they've had difficulties and have been forced to close their business. This news has made May and her diverse group friends, who have shared many cheerful moments at the flower shop, unhappy about her impending move. In this time of need, the friends have an idea on how to comfort May. Thornhill presents another entry in her easy reader series about a diverse group of friends. The three short chapters are set to five- to six-line paragraphs with medium-sized black text. The third-person, Spanish-language narrative is predictable and reads naturally with simple dialogue and familiar terms interspersed with a few stretch words. This book is perfect for a bilingual story time activity paired with its English counterpart, A Special Goodbye, or for a social unit. Although the main theme is doleful, this book centers on the support of friends. Ng-Benitez provides digitally made watercolor illustrations that perfectly portray the neighborhood and moods of the characters, with subtle depictions of daily life expressed through a mixture of full-spread art and images set in bubbles. The back matter features instructions for an activity directing children to think about their favorite place in their neighborhood and the value of friends' support. VERDICT A candid story reflecting real-life issues in a simple, child-friendly narrative. A solid choice for Spanish-language early reader shelves.—Kathia Ibacache - Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.