Fox Walked Alone

by Barbara Reid

Have you ever wondered just how the animals got to Noah's Ark? One morning Fox awakens sensing that something is different. He goes outside and sees a line of animals going by. Curious, he decides to tag along-not to join them, but just to watch from a distance. He is followed by a pair of ravens who comment on his strange behaviour. Along the way he meets bears, porcupines, tigers. . . and he sets free a couple of doves in a cage. The animals walk, sleep, and walk some more. Finally they come into sight of a big wooden ship-and there, outside, is a young lady fox. "You're the one I'm waiting for!" she exclaims, and they all tumble into the ark. "The story of Noah's Ark always leaves me with lots of questions, especially about the animals. How could they fit in? Could they all get along? And most of all, why did they decide to board the Ark? I worked on the story to try to answer these questions," explains Barbara Reid. "I chose a fox to be the main character for its sly, intelligent and curious personality. It's a companion to Two by Two from the fox's viewpoint, which gave me a chance to revisit a very rich story and spend more time with some of my favourite animals."

Genres: Picture Books, Fiction, Childrens, Animals, Jewish, Religion, Nature

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 2006

About the author

As a child, Barbara Reid loved reading, drawing, writing and fooling around with plasticine. She kept at it, and has written and illustrated 19 picture books, illustrating more than 25. Her books have been published in over a dozen countries, and her signature plasticine relief illustrations have won many awards including a Governor General’s Award for Illustration and the Ezra Jack Keats Award. Her work has been selected for the IBBY International Honour List, Sydney Taylor Notable Books, the Toronto Public Library’s First and Best List and the Ontario Library Association Best Bets. Recently, Picture a Tree received starred reviews in Quill and Quire, the Horn Book, Kirkus and Booklist.

Through workshops and presentations across Canada, Barbara has enjoyed meeting thousands of young readers, writers and fellow plasticine artists. In July 2013 Barbara was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada.

Barbara’s dimensional artwork is photographed for reproduction by photographer, and husband, Ian Crysler. Barbara lives in Toronto, but is at home in libraries and classrooms everywhere.

Reviews

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

revisiting a childhood favorite...

[babyhippoface · Rating 4 out of 5]

About halfway through this picture book readers with a biblical background will understand that all the animals are heading to Noah's Ark to beat the rain. The story is good, a new presentation of the traditional story from the fox's angle, but it's Reid's illustrations that make the book worthy of a 4-star rating. Made from shaped and pressed plasticine on board, the exceptionally well-done animals and landscapes have a distinct three-dimensional feel to them. Private Christian schools will want this one for their elementary libraries.

[Asho · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all liked this book about Fox making his way to the ark. I didn't realize based on the cover and title that it was going to be a Noah's ark story. I figured it out pretty quickly once I started reading but it was fun to see the kids gradually make that connection as the story went on. L liked the animal aspect a lot, and we all (even toddler F) were impressed by the illustrations, which are made from modeling clay. This book really made me wish I could feel it instead of just look at it. L insisted on keeping this book for the entire 9 week loan period the library allows, and she read it a bunch during that time period.

[Peggy Archer · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Night after night, Fox walked alone..." That was the way he liked it. Until one day when he stayed up during the day and began to follow, at a safe distance, pairs of animals on their journey.
I love this book for several reasons. I love the art, which seems to jump off the page. I enjoyed the rhyme and rhythm of the story. But most of all I love the surprise that slowly unfolds as you continue to read.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fox walked alone is Barbara Reid's retelling of the story of Noah's Ark. It is the story of Fox who follows the other animals even though they are traveling in pairs. It is incredibly well written and the illustrations are awesome. This will be a great book for children of all ages.

Famous for her plasticine illustrations, Canadian author and illustrator Barbara Reid is world renowned. Reid has won just about every Canadian award for children's authors or illustrators. She won the Governor General's Literary Award for Children's Illustration for The Party and this book was nominated for 7 awards.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeously illustrated telling of filling Noah's Ark. The characters and scenery are created of clay and vibrantly enhance this adorable version of animals making their way to the ark, helping each other along the way. Beautiful!

[Ume Hermanski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely artwork, the plasticine style gives such a great partial 3D feeling. I wish there were more books with B.Reid's illustrations, especially the complex and patterned images. They are incredible, please do more!

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations for this book were formed from plasticine clay, and the story follows a fox as he and other pairs of animals make a journey to Noah's ark. He meets his mate before entering the ark. I'd like to find other books by this author.

[What April's Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, poetic retelling of the journey animals made to the Ark and Noah.
I love crafty, creative illustrations. This artist used Plasticine and illustration board, which gave the pages a fun, 3D feel.

[Joy Keil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the plasticine art/illustrations. A very cute view of the story of Noah. A soon-to-be favourite for my toddler, I think!

[Tracy Schillemore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and the illustrations but I can't really use it because it leads up to the story of Noah and religion is a no no.

[Jeanine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Noah's Ark themed. It isn't the focus at first but quickly becomes clear.

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the artwork in this.

[Shoshanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the clay based illustration used for this story of the animals gathering for Noah's Ark, told in verse!

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not expect this to be a story about the animals traveling to Noah's boat. I enjoyed the illustrations. The kids had a good time listening and liked to see the various animals.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My five-year-old son picked this book out from the library last week. He liked the fox on the cover.

As soon as I saw the animals going two by two, I realized this was a book about Noah's ark. That was about a quarter to a third of the way through the book. After that, both my son and I lost interest. I regained interest at the end, but my son never did.

The artwork for this book is spectacular -- Truly the best work I've seen in polymer clay. The story and concept were great. It was the execution of the idea that failed for me. Most writers of children's books in rhyme (myself included) could benefit from studying Karma Wilson's work, especially on her "Bear" book. This author was no exception.

[Aileen Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter read this book to me the other night as part of her homework and she kept stopping to point out interesting things in the pictures so I know she loved the art. I also know that she loved the story because she told me later that she had already read the book on the bus but wanted to read it again to me. I thought it was an fresh and interesting way to tell the story of Noah's Ark and was very happy when he found a girl fox waiting on him when he arrived. A very, very nice book overall.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll be honest, I wanted to read this book because of the fox. I love fox. And I had no idea what it was about until I was reading it with my son. It turns out it's about this fox who follows all the animals to the ark. Reid's illustrations really make the story come alive. If this were a picture book published with "normal" pictures it would be a bit on the boring side, but the way she sculpts all the minute details in a scene show just how much work go into the creation of her books.

[Tionna Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. The illustrations through out the story were great as well as the text. This story showed that when you have a strong feeling you should follow it and you may just find what you have been looking for. Fox walked alone had me wondering where all the animals were going and what the fox was looking for but on the last page my questions were answered. In my opinion this is a great children’s book with a little bit of a biblical touch.

[Joy Alberti · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an interesting take on the Noah's Ark tale from the perspective of a fox who doesn't realize where he is going until the end of his journey. I liked the Plasticine illustrations which reminded me of painted clay. Children would enjoy all the varied animals found on the pages of this book.

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

When fox awakens one morning he decides something is a bit odd and decides to check it all out. He soon discovers other animals traveling in twos and decides to follow along to see what is happening. Children will love the colorful pictures that accompany this retelling of Noah’s ark from the view point of a fox!

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations are unique because they are hand-made from plasticine first, then photographed. But what I love most about this book is reading it to my son. You know how kids ask for their favourite book over and over, well, this is the book I gravitate to whenever I get to choose a book for storytime.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, by Barbara Reid, has a lot of rhyming words. The fox comes out of his bed and takes you on the kids on an adventure. This book includes social and emotional developmental skills and also provides children with the opportunity to develop empathy for all of the animals and the fox. The fox also develops empathy and self efficacy throughout the story.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The truth is the illustrations don't do it for me: they show remarkable skill but are perhaps too clever? But the other truth is that this story choked me up! And it's not like I didn't see the plot twists coming! And it's not like I even care for the story being told. So wow. The power of distillation and story-element placement. And having the fox act beyond himself.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so gorgeously illustrated in plasticine art. The story is about the animals travelling two by two to the Ark, but Fox is walking alone. He is curious, knowing something special is going on, and seeing more and more animals join the journey as the weather starts changing. Such a lovely rhyming story with a sweet ending.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great illustrations of animals and a nice rhythmic text. My only minor concern is that the animals are all headed to Noah's Ark- so if you have any concerns about extremely mild Christian reference then you should skip it

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous plasticine illustrations. The story was OK, but I wasn't really sure why this was an IBBY Honour List 2008 book, as it did not really seem to reflect anything about the country where the book was from (Canada).

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustrations keep small people looking closely at them. Barbara Reid's sculpting genius is evident. This story is written in rhyme and arrives at the conclusion (Noah's ark) after a rambling mystery. An excellent book for practicing the skill of inferring.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

edition francais: Ou vas-tu Renard?


Un tres bon livre de l'histoire de Noe et les animaux qui vennaient. Les images sont belles !


An excellent version of the story of Noah from the point of view of the animals. Beautiful pictures made from plasticine!

[Ambra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing pictures! The kids were spellbound by the clay animals as well as the cute, rhyming text. I think we have just found a new favorite at our house. It will be one of those books that my son runs to when he spots it at the library.