Spring is for Fox Stories

This is the spring for Fox books! My first post of the year was a book about foxes. And today I’m sharing a couple more.

theme: foxes, nature, animals

A Kit Story 

by Alison Farrell; illus. by Kristen Tracy 

22 pages (board); ages 2-4

‎Chronicle Books, 2022   

This is such a cute book for the little ones. It begins with a challenge on the first page: I am a fox. Do you see me?

The fox kit compares her speed to a hummingbird (slower), the amount of food she eats to a butterfly (way more), and how fierce she is (more than a rabbit). We see her at different times of the day, and through the seasons until, in the winter, she curls up in a ball with her family. 

What I like about this book:

It is fun to read aloud and compare yourself to a fox kit. And the text is simple enough that older siblings might be able to read it by themselves. This book is the second one created by Kristen and Alison. Last year they shared A Cub Story, which invites youngsters into the daily life of a young bear cub.

Sly As a Fox: Are Foxes Clever? 

by Marie-Therese Miller 

32 pages; ages 8-9

Kids Core (ABDO), 2022

You’ve probably heard someone say “he’s as sly as a fox” but… are foxes really sly and clever? That’s what Marie-Therese Miller explores in her book, one of a series comparing animal idioms (expressions) and the real-life animals.

The answer is a resounding YES! “Foxes find places to live and food to eat in resourceful ways,” Marie-Therese writes. “Foxes also outsmart animals that are hunting them.”

Focusing on the Red fox, she highlights their adaptations and discusses the types of food they eat. Like us, foxes are omnivorous, so they’ll eat a wide range of stuff – including berries and fruits planted in people’s gardens!  There’s a chapter that focuses on how foxes hunt, and a chapter that focuses on how they escape other predators.

The informative text is conversational and fun to read. Marie-Therese includes text-boxes to highlight specific adaptations or fox features and a section of “fox facts” at the back.

Marie-Therese is a member of #STEAMTeam2022, and it turns out that she’s not the only STEAM-teamer who contributed to the series. Matt Lilley, who you met in early February through his book on Krill, has written about Oxen and Mules. And Laura Perdew, whose books on the solar system I reviewed just last week, contributed books about smart birds and eagles to this series. If you like word play AND animal science, you can check out more about the series here.

Marie-Therese has written a whole slew of books. Find out more about her at her website.

You can find more about STEAM Team books here.

Beyond the Books

Make a paper bag fox puppet. All you need is a clean lunch bag and some crayons. Here's how.

Walk like a fox. When you look at fox tracks, you notice they are all in a line. And when foxes slink through the woods, they are silent. Here's how you can learn to walk like a fox.

Do you eat like a fox? Red foxes eat blackberries, grapes, apples, and acorns (nuts). They also eat fish, birds, and insects. Make a list of fox foods you eat. My list starts with tuna fish sandwich!

Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.