Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 09/01/2024 This frolicsome book begins and ends with a portrait gallery of some of our former presidents’ dogs, including Fido Lincoln, King Tut Hoover, and Sunny Obama. The First Dog featured here, though, is a fictional rescue dog adopted by a fictional Black woman president and her ebullient daughter. The story is told entirely via presidential memos that appear on the page amid the increasingly chaotic, comic action. The president tries to get her staff used to Chester’s antics, to get Chester better trained, and to pass a crucial rubber-band bill. Meanwhile, Chester starts affixing sticky notes onto the president’s memos, training the staff to nap and have treats. The end memo is an invitation from the president to a pizza party, stating that people respond to positive reinforcement, too. The digital illustrations are buoyant and filled with funny details. The memos, which often use formal, bureaucratic language, may be difficult to understand for the suggested age group, but the boisterous scenes carry it. - Copyright 2024 Booklist.