A little fox awakens in his den in this lovely picture-book, venturing out into the snowy world around him for food. Driven by hunger, he hunts mice and rabbits, until he himself becomes the prey, driven back to his den by a fierce wolverine. Here he curls up, dreaming perhaps of the vixen he scented, and of the possibility of his own foxy family...

With a simple but poetic text from author Jonathan London and beautiful artwork from illustrator Daniel Miyares, Little Fox in the Snow offers a young child's introduction to the realities of life in the wild. This is not a cuddly, anthropomorphic view of wild animals, but rather a naturalistic one. The fox is hungry, and he must hunt for his food. I appreciated the simple, matter-of-fact but somehow gentle way this was conveyed, in text and image, and that the fox is also shown to have his enemies. Recommended to anyone seeking excellent pre-school level picture-books about the natural world. ( )

Realistic fox in the snow story ( )

I think book would work really well when teaching children about prey and predator. The grade range is listed k-3, and although the text itself is on that level, I am not sure I would read this to a Kindergartener. But I think the author did a great job of telling a realistic story to young children. I would definitely read this to my class during a lesson on predator/ prey ( )

Many of Johnathan London’s books are about animals acting like real animals…there are no foxes wearing human clothes here. This is a realistic look at a fox hunting for food (He catches and eats a mouse and a rabbit, but it is not really shown, just mouse in the fox’s mouth and rabbit there, then gone.) Story is descriptive and poetic. Illustrations cool and wintery except for the fox’s red coat against the snow. I often include a nonfiction or realistic book to go with fiction stories for preschool story time. This one would be perfect to pair with ‘Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox’. ( )

I will frankly admit that, along with many other librarians, teachers, and caregivers, I find the Froggy books to be... annoying. The kids want them read over and over again but... ugh. However! I am really thrilled at the nonfiction picture books London has been doing, each paired with a different, highly talented, illustrator.

This latest one is a single winter day in the life of a fox. In his den, the fox wakes to the morning light, hunts and catches a mouse and rabbit (only the mouse is shown being caught), and pauses for a drink. He smells a female fox, but then is chased by a wolverine and makes it back to safety with only inches to spare.

The text is written directly to the fox, "Little foxling, where will you go? You flow like a shadow across the fields. You leave little paw prints behind in the snow." The text is spare but lovely, presenting a realistic picture of the fox's life. Miyares' watercolors spread across the page, the fox's red coat a brilliant splash of color against the stark white and brown of the winter landscape. The sun glows in the sky, the wolverine's eyes flash. There's a great deal of beauty in the spare winter landscape of the forest and Miyares captures its beauty and harshness perfectly.

I've read this in several storytimes and while it's not the exuberant, funny type of story, it has a stark beauty that the kids actually respond very well to. Use a quiet voice and gestures to show the fox's movement and kids will be enthralled.

Verdict: A beautiful and informative nonfiction picture book. Note that it's eligible to be nominated for Cybils in 2019! I'm looking forward to adding this to my library. Recommended.

ISBN: 9780763688141; Published November 2018 by Candlewick; Borrowed from another library in my consortium