One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller by Kate Read. Peachtree, 9781682631317, 2019
Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5
Format: Picture book
What did you like about the book? A great spin on the basic one to ten counting book. Kate Read’s beautiful watercolor and collage artwork (owing much to Steve Jenkins and Eric Carle) tells the story of a hungry fox and manages to build real suspense while introducing vocabulary. “One famished fox”… the story begins. “Two sly eyes”, “Three plump hens” and you can probably guess where this is going. Great for predicting. Read makes efficient use of the whole page, drawing the eye to new locations as the pages turn and the story advances. As an added bonus, she switches from light to dark backgrounds, which further dramatizes the action and conflict. The animals expressions are wonderful as is the comic commotion and brave mobilization of the bird backlash. Handsome end papers feature the fox’s footprints at the beginning of the story and sleeping, nesting hens at the end.
Anything you didn’t like about it? No. Absolutely perfect and a remarkable first outing for a new talent.
To whom would you recommend this book? This would make an exciting and raucous read aloud! The large, bold illustrations mean that even those in the back of the room can follow the action. Counting plus predicting will make for an exciting story time.
Who should buy this book? Daycare, elementary and public libraries.
Where would you shelve it? Picture books, or if you have a counting book collection, it could live there.
Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? Yes!
Reviewer: Susan Harari, Keefe Library, Boston Latin School, Boston, MA
Date of review: October 20, 2019
Youth Services Book Review 
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