RED FOX

The life and habits of the red fox, captured in jewel-toned images and spare, direct prose. This factual book about the red fox reads like a story, highlighting a small but telling incident: the fox carefully stalking its prey in the grass, pouncing on a mouse, and gobbling it down in two quick gulps as three fox cubs look on. Underneath the pictures and in the margins appear hand-lettered snippets of information about the fox, explaining when cubs are born, how they are fed, the sounds that a fox makes, what their tracks look like, and various details about their fur and tails. The combination of factual data with a more narrative approach succeeds and will likely engage young readers even as it instructs. And the illustrations are outstanding. Even children too young too understand the information contained here will enjoy making up their own stories about the bold, graceful creature they see portrayed. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 3+)