Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 09/01/2025 Gr 1–3—Multiple themes twine through this salute to Jyoti Kumari, a teenager who loyally carried her injured pita (father) on a bicycle over 700 miles from Delhi to their home village of Sirhulli when 2020's COVID-19 lockdown closed India's train and bus systems. "It's a little hard, but not a lot," becomes Jyoti's mantra as she determinedly sets out on the journey with, the authors write, "the grit of a thousand hathis" (elephants) "inside her." Filling herself with the "aag" (fire) "of Kali," she is accompanied in Joshi's illustrations by Hindu sages and deities from Indra to Ganesha, the remover of obstacles; in the art her bicycle is even transformed into a tiger to carry her and her passenger over the sacred Yamuna River. There is a more general underlying message here too, which is made explicit at the end: She was able to complete her legendary trek because she believed in herself. "And that alone," the tale concludes, "will take you far." Along with offering new photos of Jyoti and her family, the back matter cements the quality of her achievement with eloquent discussions of the obstacles she faced—due both to the lockdown and distances involved, and to gender and social expectations related to her family's marginalized status as Dalits, formerly known as "Untouchables." VERDICT An unusual and inspiring variation on the archetypal hero's journey in which personal courage, family loyalty, and the broader cultural context all play equally strong roles.—John Peters - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Other - 11/24/2025 In an uneven tale of perseverance and survival, Thomas and Raj chronicle the 2020 journey of then-teenage Jyoti Kumari, who, as Covid-19 breaks out across India, pedals more than 700 miles on a secondhand bicycle to transport her injured migrant-worker father home. The creators repeat Kumari’s mantra-"It’s a little hard, but not a lot"-as the teen, with her beloved Pita on the back of the bike, draws strength from elephants and tigers, gods and goddesses. Across saturated scenes, Joshi’s lushly rendered digital illustrations incorporate Indian motifs and Hindu iconography: Kumari and her father are lulled to sleep by Vayu, the wind god, and Kumari "fills herself with the aag of Kali," the goddess of time and destruction. Alternating between English and Hindi, urgent third-person text acknowledges the determination behind an act that, in the end, "was very hard.... But means a lot." Extensive back matter offers necessary context. Ages 4-7. (Jan.) - Copyright 2025