Bound To Stay Bound

Booklist - 02/01/2026 The kitchen table is the center of so much more than just everyday meals with the immediate family: games, drawing, homework, spreading out to cook together, gathering extended family and friends for holidays and play dates. More than furniture, the table is a uniting element that is the heart of the home. At Washington’s table, brothers, parents, and other relatives are depicted with varying skin tones, but everyone belongs. Many aspects of life are discussed in a natural manner. Sometimes a child is in trouble and receives some life lessons at the table. It’s also where the girl’s mother washes and braids her hair, or where the family lights a kinara, although Kwanzaa isn’t named. Everyone may be getting together at the table because there has been a death or maybe to celebrate a birthday or graduation. As in the Caldecott Honor–winning Choosing Brave (2022), Washington creates the detailed illustrations by hand-cutting black paper, then adding colored tissue and handmade paper for additional layers. The love and warmth the family shares glows on each page. - Copyright 2026 Booklist.