Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 03/01/2025 K-Gr 2—Great-Grandma Caroline is turning 100 years old, and Jasmine is excited to meet her for the first time. Jasmine and her grandfather embark on a long car ride to attend a birthday party where family and friends have gathered to celebrate. Upon arrival, Jasmine runs to her great-grandmother's arms and asks how she lived so long. Rather than answering her directly, Great-Grandma Caroline skips a stone across the water and uses several analogies to explain that getting older takes many different things, like being patient, staying determined, and having faith. A birthday party with 100 lit candles ends the day. Digitally rendered illustrations that mimic acrylic painting are featured in spreads. Idyllic in nature, the story shows the ease at which children give love, even to a family member several generations older. Although simple, the story offers some good nuggets of truth for all readers to learn from. "'Getting old also takes faith,' she says. 'You keep showing up, keep trying, keep making the most of the surprises life gives you…day by day.'" Most characters are cued as Black. VERDICT A sweet story that demonstrates the importance of family connections and the easy way that children give and accept love. A first purchase for libraries.—Tracy Cronce - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Other - 05/19/2025 Tracing a matriarch’s birthday party through the eyes of a young attendee, Langley and Grooms craft a heartwarming story celebrating intergenerational bonds. Eagerly anticipating great-grandma Caroline’s 100th birthday, young Jasmine spends the trip there reflecting on her pets’ short lives compared to her relation’s century. When Jasmine asks the woman, "How did you get to be so old?" Great-Grandma Caroline teaches the child to skip rocks while explaining that "making one hundred years" takes patience, determination, and faith-values that ripple through the generations as Jasmine gets the hang of rock-skipping. Illustrations focus on the familial figures, capturing the joy of celebrating life’s milestones. Jasmine and her family are portrayed with brown skin; background characters are shown with various skin tones. Ages 4-8. (May) - Copyright 2025