Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 06/14/2024 PreS-Gr 3—Caldecott Honoree Becker (Journey) reimagines Noah's tale as a robot in a post-apocalyptic world seemingly devoid of human life. NOA, a turbine-powered robot that dwarfs the animals he cares for, carefully separates the carnivorous tigers from the elephants, giraffes, and hippos as he feeds them each day. Flamingos fly and perch on the tender NOA, who returns to his shelter at night to build small boats. Becker's art is highly detailed, using watercolor defined by pen and ink that invite inquiry and discussion. NOA bears a dove decal, and the animals are surrounded by buildings with carved animal shapes, suggesting the area was once a zoo. When water rises, NOA builds a large ship for the animals and sets sail with a hope that is rewarded. Each small movement of NOA conveys emotion and the value of caring for our planet. NOA's loneliness, his horror over the rising water, his concern—all are palpable. Although the main story is wordless, this quotation by Jane Goodall appears before the title page: "Only if we understand, can we care. Only if we care, can we help. Only if we help, shall all be saved." There are beautiful applications for using this title in the classroom and library to jumpstart projects on conservation. Older readers will experience complex feelings watching NOA care for the world in a way so many humans do not. VERDICT A wordless picture book with so much to say, this is one for all children, and all collections.—Rachel Zuffa - Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 03/01/2024 In another visionary wordless picture book by multiple award-winning author-illustrator Becker, an endearing, gigantic, yellow-bodied robot wearing a quiver of wind turbines tends to the feeding of zoo animals; as rising waters turn their habitats into increasingly smaller islands, the resourceful robot fashions an enormous vessel from salvaged flotsam. Vast skies turn from rosy dawns to star-scattered nights as the boat sets off carrying its cargo of rescued animals, but a thrashing storm leaves it wrecked on a sandbank. Fortunately, another enormous robot—purple and sporting a solar panel on its back—arrives in a hot air balloon to offer friendly assistance. The new partners sail skyward with their animal charges toward a new island home. Compelling environmental references are both dramatic (the shifting splendor of skies and seas in spreads of magnificent watercolor washes) and specific (the ecology symbols painted on the robots’ bellies and the yellow robot’s ever-present flamingo friends.) In this gentle postapocalyptic fable, presented through scenes both breathtaking and charmingly inventive, an ingenious and courageous struggle for survival yields a tender and hopeful ending. - Copyright 2024 Booklist.