Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 01/19/2024 Gr 1–4—Depicting the genesis of the imaginative world of a groundbreaking writer for children, this is the first picture book biography about Virginia Hamilton. Before she was the first Black author to get a Newbery, she was Ginny Hamilton. She learned how to be a storyteller from her extraordinary mother and her mandolin-playing father. In 16 poems, Crews gives readers a glimpse at Hamilton's childhood, one filled with family and love but also marked by segregation. These kid-friendly entries center around aspects that will resonate with young readers, such as growing up on a farm and spats with her. Themes presented in these verses echo in the works that would later make her famous, such as the unbelievable folk stories that she would hear her family tell, and her nightmares about "The Faceless One," whom she overcame with the power of words. The final entry shares how Hamilton moved back to her family home, a return to the touchstones from which she drew much of her inspiration. Crews's illustrations is the star here. The collage-style digital art captures the greens of the verdant family farm and the blues of the expansive skies. Swirls of glitterlike squares dance throughout the spreads, hinting at the extraordinary magic that permeated through her everyday life and the stories she wrote. Selected bibliography; selected list of her books; Crews's note explaining her research method, including interview Adoff; time line; and several archival photos. VERDICT Purchase this lovely picture book biography as an introduction to Hamilton's work or to encourage future creators. With every page, readers will be inspired to follow their own magic.—Shelley M. Diaz - Copyright 2024 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 07/01/2024 The prolific Crews turns her attention to another Black children's author, Virginia Hamilton, in this book of biographical poetry and illustrative spreads that take Hamilton from birth through adulthood. Wisely, Crews concentrates on the aspects of the pioneering writer's life that will most resonate with her young readers, from the way Hamilton carried a story in her name (Virginia was the state from which her ancestor fled) to watching a storm with her mother to fighting, then making up with, a sister-like cousin. Crews stresses storytelling and its origins in Hamilton's experiences: parallel experiences to a white person's but not a minority experience. Hamilton wrote, as Crews explains in the poem Home, for young people struggling to understand / their place in a complicated world. Gentle natural colors and thoughts that appear among confetti-like squares and bows, float through Crews' pictures. An afterword, time line, and bibliography round things out. A nice addition to poetry collections and school libraries. - Copyright 2024 Booklist.