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Finding Foxes
The reader is invited to find hidden foxes in sunlight, under waiting wind, and on a purpled hill.
- GenresPicture Books
32 pages, Hardcover
First published May 2, 1991
5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 11, 2019
Author Allison Blyler and illustrator Robert J. Blake explore the nature of foxes in this poetic picture-book. The simple but immensely evocative text describes a fox in the daytime - "the leaves on the breath of the wind, the fox in a circle of sunlight. The day was gilt-edged and so was the fox" - before moving into the night-time world of imagination, seeming to envision the fox as a figure of majesty and mystery. The accompanying artwork by Blake, done in gouache, depicts the fox against a backdrop of field and forest, moving from the golden tones of day to the darker ones of night...
The text of Finding Foxes is not a story, but a poem. There is a narrative of sorts, in the brief pages in which the fox is hunting, "cruelly red, in a knife of sun," but this is more a book about creating an impression and communicating a feeling, than it is about telling a tale. The language is sparse but beautiful, with certain phrases - "the fox knows what is real and what is imagined" / "I can weave an imagination of foxes" / "If I imitate the fox, I cannot change him" - that linger in the mind. The illustrations are simply lovely, capturing the beauty of the fox's world, and hinting at the essential mystery of his nature. I had to request Finding Foxes through inter-library loan, but now that I have read it, I would love to own a copy, as I feel its textual and visual beauty will reward rereading. Recommended to fox lovers young and old, and to anyone looking for picture-books which communicate a sense of the mystery of creation.
The text of Finding Foxes is not a story, but a poem. There is a narrative of sorts, in the brief pages in which the fox is hunting, "cruelly red, in a knife of sun," but this is more a book about creating an impression and communicating a feeling, than it is about telling a tale. The language is sparse but beautiful, with certain phrases - "the fox knows what is real and what is imagined" / "I can weave an imagination of foxes" / "If I imitate the fox, I cannot change him" - that linger in the mind. The illustrations are simply lovely, capturing the beauty of the fox's world, and hinting at the essential mystery of his nature. I had to request Finding Foxes through inter-library loan, but now that I have read it, I would love to own a copy, as I feel its textual and visual beauty will reward rereading. Recommended to fox lovers young and old, and to anyone looking for picture-books which communicate a sense of the mystery of creation.
November 19, 2018
I was reading this book and kept thinking that it was pretty familiar. And then I finally realized that it's "13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird"! That's what it reminds me of and what it feels like. I really enjoyed it.
February 5, 2018
The art is really nice but they show a dead rabbit so beware for sensitive children.
October 2, 2021
Four stars for the art
June 7, 2010
A book of haiku about foxes. I don't love haiku, but my son loved finding the fox on each page. Lovely pictures.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews