Bound To Stay Bound

Other - 05/05/2025 In the final images of this geological odyssey, a park ranger points out an unassuming gray rock that sits on the side of a hiking trail-a humble presence that, as Ho (A Taste of Home) and Williams (Look on the Bright Side) examine in the preceding pages, is actually a time-traveling witness to and participant in millennia of dramatic transformations. Minimalist, measured text and cartooned scenes that feature multiple cross sections walk readers through timescales beyond human experience, emphasizing how a rock goes through multiple iterations: "Heat melts it./ Pressure shapes it./ The rock reforms.../ ...into something new." The work captures various forces that impact the rock as it moves, from its first appearance on the side of a smoking mountain 130 million years ago to sharing a landscape with dinosaurs 90 million years ago, tumbling into ocean depths 10 million years ago, and, coming full circle, blasting into the sky in a 1980 volcanic eruption. It’s a long-form reminder that even the most ordinary objects can contain extraordinary histories. Characters are portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. More about rocks concludes. Ages 4-8. Author’s agent: Emily Mitchell, Wernick & Pratt. Illustrator’s agent: Minju Chang, Bookstop Literary. (July) - Copyright 2025

School Library Journal - 06/01/2025 K-Gr 2—The rock cycle is simply told over 130 billion years, as one rock undergoes a transformation of weathering through lava, mud, and weather, and is broken into pieces underneath sediment to be reborn. Minimal text and captions highlight how time moves slowly for the rock, even as life moves on around it. Digital illustrations are clean and rich, careful to highlight the rock as it becomes a grain of sediment and enlarging it to depict microscopic minerals and crystals. Most pages are full-bleed spreads. One spread requires readers to turn the book sideways as the rock falls into the sea; for some readers, this may throw off the rhythm. The narrative is clean and uses some scientific terms, such as magma, lava, and tectonic plates, which young children may need an assist in decoding. The text, despite the overuse of ellipses, explains the rock cycle well. Back matter includes an explanation of the three kinds of rocks and a fuller understanding of how this particular rock transitioned. That back matter is aimed at a more mature audience and lacks a glossary. Purchasers may want to consider Xelena González's Where Wonder Grows and Heather Ferranti Kinser's Nature Is a Sculptor to complement and supplement this title. VERDICT This is a fine additional selection for libraries in need of materials on the rock cycle.—Rachel Zuffa - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.