Fox Versus Fox
(My First I Can Read)

The red fox's superciliousness and the white fox's indefatigable happiness come through clearly.

The sweet and sometimes silly illustrations--rendered in pencil, colored pencil, and watercolors--complement the narrative, reflecting both the subtly devious plot and story's gentle spirit.

PreS-Gr 2--Tabor does it again, with a charming addition to the much loved "Fox" series. Beginning readers will delight in the hilarious story of two foxes who ultimately discover they are more alike than different. When a woodland fox encounters an arctic fox for the first time, he struggles to comprehend that they can both be foxes. They look so different! The woodland fox begins listing all of the things foxes are able to do, like jumping very high, doing neat tricks, and being sneaky. The frustration grows when the arctic fox demonstrates the ability to do all of the same things--just differently! The competition gets more and more intense between the two, until they find themselves in a situation where they need a friend. The woodland fox offers a truce, and the two walk into the sunset with their arms around each other. Short sentences along with repeating words and phrases make this book a fantastic choice for shared reading between an adult and child. VERDICT It's rare to find an early transitional reader with a captivating plot, humor, and illustrations that also maintains an easy reading level, but this title does all of that and more.--Ellen Kleber

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