Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 01/01/2026 Gr 2–5—Although a picture book, this work packs a punch. This story loosely follows the true story of Tonai's experience in the Japanese incarceration camps during the 1940s in America. Tonai's father was believed to be a Japanese spy and arrested. Not long after, he and the rest of his family were sent to a detention center in Santa Anita, CA, and then to Grenada, CO. Three years after his arrest, Tonai's father returns to his family in Colorado at Amache Camp. Over a year later, in 1945, the family and others were liberated and allowed to return to their home. This story is incredibly moving. Children will understand this accessible story, achieved without being watered down or condescending. The back matter of is also well written and aimed at the same audience. There's information about the time period and location of events. The dates are small and not on every page; to remedy that, a timeline is included in the back. The art was done digitally. It features soft muted colors of browns, blues, pinks, and more. Sasaki really captures the weighty emotions of this book within the characters' faces, both sadness and joy, tonally matching the art to the text. VERDICT A heavy book that is done with tact; with meaningful prose and incredible artwork, this is a highly recommended purchase for collections.—Sarah Clarke - Copyright 2026 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Other - 01/26/2026 A stone serves as metaphor and motif in this piercing story based around a child’s experience at a WWII-era incarceration camp. In 1941 San Pedro, Calif., Minoru and his father, a produce purveyor, share a love of collecting rocks. But when FBI agents accuse Min’s father of being a spy just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Papa is taken away-handing the boy a smooth gray stone "for strength." Soon, "all persons of Japanese ancestry" are forced out of their homes, and unsparing narration traces Min’s family’s internment from a horse stall at a race track turned detention center to wooden barracks behind barbed wire in Colorado. In desert tones, Sasaki’s boldly graphic, shape-based illustrations emphasize light and shadow across each step of the family’s journey. Based on Tonai’s years at Amache incarceration center and written in collaboration with Guti?rrez, this resonant account underscores young Min’s plaintive words, "We’ve done nothing wrong, and we’re losing everything." Creator notes, discussion questions, and more conclude. FBI agents are portrayed with pale skin. Ages 4-8. (Apr.) - Copyright 2026

Booklist - 01/01/2026 *Starred Review* Soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, many Japanese Americans were taken from their homes with little or no warning and imprisoned until after the war ended. Minoru Tonai (better known as Min) was just a boy when FBI agents arrived at his home, interviewed his parents, took his father away, and imprisoned him. Before leaving, Papa gives Min a smooth gray stone and says, “For strength, Minoru.” Min carries the stone with him during the coming years, when he, his mother, and his siblings are taken to a detention center at a former racetrack and housed in “a stinking horse stall.” Later, the whole family is moved to a desert incarceration site. Three years later, they return to their California home. In writing the book, Tonai and Gutiérrez shared the goal of informing people about the injustice and abuse of power that his family endured, in hopes of preventing similar injustices in the future. The book’s succinct text and powerful digital illustrations retell the Tonai family’s moving story for a new generation, who will surely understand the family’s hardships, including their lengthy separation from Papa and the fundamental unfairness of their situation. - Copyright 2026 Booklist.