Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 09/01/2022 Noa loves Teddy, but Teddy is the worst! He is always sleeping and never awake to play in the daytime like other kids' stuffies. Little does Noa know, Teddy actually spends the whole night watching over Noa as a protective guardian while he sleeps, shooing away a ghost, the boogeyman, an overenthusiastic tooth fairy, and even a tickle monster. No wonder Teddy needs a nap! Created with deliberately unpolished, childlike renderings in a mix of crayons, cut paper, and digital collage, the artwork in this debut picture book has that Todd Parr appeal of familiarity and achievability for toddlers and young children. The daytime spreads are dominated by warm gold, and the nighttime scenes are saturated with midnight blue, creating an easily differentiated palette for little readers. The story is simple, and there are some repeated refrains of predictive text that librarians and preschool educators may utilize for increased engagement. And although some adults may balk at Noa’s persistent grumpiness, the message of teddy bears as nighttime protectors will be comforting to many a tiny reader. - Copyright 2022 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 12/23/2022 PreS-Gr 2—Noa loves her teddy, but gets pretty annoyed that he is always tired. She feels like Teddy is always napping, unlike the other kids' super awesome friends. But, when Noa goes to sleep, it turns out that Teddy has a super important and exhausting job. Verdad has created a wonderful story that will make readers believe it's going in a different direction than it does. The simple vocabulary makes apparent whether it is Noa's or Teddy's perspective, and what they are feeling, and neither drags on for too long. Verdad's illustrations show the character's emotions as well as the events and experiences of the story; also shown is Teddy's ongoing activities, night and day! The contrast in colors will also cue readers in to the time differences, providing adults and children a story to cuddle up to that makes a subtle point about never knowing another person—or a teddy bear's—whole story. This book has many uses in the classroom, for supporting conversations about misunderstandings, learning to read between the lines, and not assuming. VERDICT A warm story for explaining that underlying answers aren't always obvious, and that readers can't know what others are going through. Good for read-alouds and SEL shelves.—Margaret Kennelly - Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.