Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 11/15/2019 Androcles and the Lion meets Waiting for Godot as a decidedly ill-tempered ant suddenly finds himself lost in a vast, barren desert (“Where the jalapeño am I?”). Eventually, he's joined by a fly with a really short attention span for exchanges that involve lots of frustrated shouting (by the ant) and random comments (from the fly): “I love waffles, don’t you?” But then the fly notices a piece of pine needle stuck in the ant’s side, and its removal prompts at least a modest brightening of the ant’s disposition, along with a muttered thanks. Alas, their budding friendship is likely destined to be a short one, as a third, leggier character makes a sudden entrance with a final page turn. Ruzzier cranks up the narrative’s comical interplay with scenes featuring a scowling, choleric red ant and a pop-eyed fly with a clownish nose and goofy grin. Fans of Jon Klassen’s mordant fables will form an appreciative, ready-made audience, but the fly’s sociability and quick kindness add buoyancy to the episode. - Copyright 2019 Booklist.

School Library Journal - 03/13/2020 PreS-Gr 2—A hot-headed ant and a lovable fly are lost together in the middle of the desert. The ant, being extremely sour and rude, wants nothing to do with the fly, who has, well, the attention span of a fly. After the fly removes an actual thorn in the ant's side, he then offers to fly them out of the desert. A surpising, yet open-ended ending may either delight or startle readers. The use of humor, visual gags, and idioms will go over many children's heads but may charm adults. The mean ant is in fact very mean; however, the lesson showing kids that being mean doesn't pay isn't straightforward. VERDICT An additional purchase-despite the picture book format, the tale is more suited to beginning readers. —Shana Shea, Windsor Public Library, CT - Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.