Overview
Award-winning author and wildlife expert Eliot Schrefer makes his picture book debut with a sweet, poignant story about family and belonging, inspired by the true story of a bonobo raised by a human family and later returned to the wild, with illustrations from New York Times bestselling artist AG Ford. Lulu is like many kids you know. She lives in a house with her mom, dad, and sister. She likes soda, hopscotch, and comic books. But there is one way Lulu is different: she's a bonobo. Being the only bonobo in a human world can be lonesome. And so Lulu and her family take a long boat ride to a jungle Lulu has never seen before. Now, she's surrounded by creatures with faces that look like hers and who make sounds like she does. But Lulu can't possibly be like these apes...can she?
Full Product Details
Author: Eliot Schrefer ,
Ag Ford
Publisher: Bound to Stay Bound Books
Imprint: Bound to Stay Bound Books
ISBN: 9798855183948
Pages: 40
Publication Date: 10 February 2026
Recommended Age: From 4 to 8 years
Audience:
Children/juvenile
,
Children / Juvenile
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
Colored pencil and ink illustrations portray wild, gregarious bonobo energy and tender, human-like gestures. Through Lulu's journey, readers see how easy it is to both draw and blur lines of connection. - Publisher's Weekly ""The lovely story, based on an actual bonobo, has plenty of lighthearted moments, but there is also the poignancy of Lulu's plight as an individual torn between worlds. A touching tale sure to resonate with any reader trying to find their true place in the world."" - ALA Booklist
Author Information
Eliot Schrefer is the New York Times bestselling author of many books for kids and teens, including The Darkness Outside Us and its sequel, The Brightness Between Us, as well as Charming Young Man, Endangered, and Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality. His books have twice been named finalists for the National Book Award in Young People's Literature and have garnered a Printz Honor, a Stonewall Honor, and the Green Earth Book Award. He is on the faculty of the creative writing MFA program at Hamline University and lives with his husband in New York City. Visit him online at eliotschrefer.com. AG Ford is a New York Times bestselling artist and recipient of two NAACP Image Awards. He has illustrated more than thirty books for children, including picture books by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Sharon Robinson, Ilyasah Shabazz, Martin Luther King III, Nick Cannon, Jonah Winter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and many others. He grew up in Dallas and attended the Columbus College of Art and Design and now lives in Frisco, Texas, with his wife, Brandy, and their two sons, Maddox and Carter. Visit him online at agfordillustration.com.
