Bound To Stay Bound

School Library Journal - 12/01/2014 PreS-Gr 3—Little Tom Drum loves nothing more than strawberry pie, and he always begs for more. One fateful evening, his mother teases him, asking him if he has "three mouths." Unfortunately for all, the child responds in the affirmative. That evening, as he is sneaking more pie, he suddenly has three mouths, an extra one on each side of his face. The whole family is sent into a tailspin, and they agree he must quit school and be taught at home. As time passes, it becomes clear that Tom has a knack for inventing gadgets, and he becomes renowned all over the world. One day, a "Wishing Machine" is delivered, and it eventually returns him to his former, one-mouthed self. The story is beautifully illustrated in pen and ink with pastel. The art pairs nicely with the fairy tale-like mood of the story. Unfortunately, the meandering plot is confusing. Tom's playful inventions steal the narrative and detract from his three-mouths dilemma. By the time he is restored to normal, readers might well have forgotten that he even had this physical anomaly. This title will have limited appeal and is a supplemental purchase best suited to libraries with large collections.—Amy Nolan, St. Joseph Public Library, St. Joseph, MI - Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 01/01/2015 Yes, Little Tom Drum has three (count ’em, three) mouths: one in the middle of his face and one on each cheek. He acquires the extra orifices the night that he sneaks a second piece of strawberry pie (his favorite). Mercy! What next? Well, he can’t go to school (What would people say?), so his parents hire a tutor, and Little Tom Drum discovers a talent for inventing. He invents a telescope with ears, an electric skateboard, a hat tipper, and more. But, perhaps best of all, he invents a wishing machine and wishes for the face he lost, but nothing happens. Oh, well; he can still play three harmonicas at once and blow a hundred bubbles from three bubble pipes, but then three children discover the abandoned wishing machine and something, well, onederful happens! Newbery medalist Willard’s gentle tale has an irresistible premise and is filled with invention and imagination, matched by Hawkes’ apposite, softly rendered pictures in pen, ink, and pastel. It’s a treat matched only by Little Tom’s strawberry pie! - Copyright 2015 Booklist.

Bulletin for the Center... - 04/01/2015 Tom’s mother has made his very favorite pie (strawberry) for his eighth birthday. Not content with the single slice he wheedles before bed, he wishes for three mouths; unfortunately, this birthday wish comes true. Plagued with three pieholes, he cannot possibly have a birthday party or even attend school, and his mother’s initial reaction is to shriek “There’s a monster in the house!” before the family falls together weeping on the kitchen floor. He studies with a tutor, begins inventing contraptions, and wishes fervently for his previous face; only when his innovations matter more than his appearance and the neighborhood children appreciate him just as he is does he return to his single-mouthed self. The message is ambiguous in this convoluted cautionary tale of greed and gluttony (or maybe of the superficiality of appearances-hard to say); the logic is unclear and random plot devices are confusing. The pen, ink, and pastel illustrations confound rather than clarify the issue, with an anthropomorphized moon implicated but never convicted in Tom’s initial transformation. With its combination of a 1950s-like backdrop, fable conventions, and incongruous inventions the art pairs realism and whimsy without really coming down on either side; lightness is never fully embraced nor darkness fully explored. Neither a clear morality tale nor a successful satire-and entirely too text-heavy for the crowd who could simply laugh at Tom blowing bubbles from all three mouths-this perplexing book, like a pie, is best left to cool on the shelf. AA - Copyright 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.