by John Sanford
Illustrations by the author
Worthy Kids
a trademark of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
2023
32 pages
ISBN: 9781546003724
"To have a friend, one must be a friend."
Brindlefox lives alone and likes it. He does not like company or noise, so he lives a hermit's existence in his messy house. He never has guests, so he does nor clean or tidy his house. Soon, leaves, vines, plants and limbs are growing into his house. In fact, one day, a sapling sprouts from Brindlefox's own back!
The sapling grows exponentially in a few days until Brindlefox is aware of a rustling in his leaves. It's a heron! And not only that, a noisy, nosy heron. He scares the bird away, but is surprised to see it gathering berries from his limbs. The next day, a tasty pie appears on his windowsill. Brindlefox is surprised. Why would a bird leave him, a mean fox, a pie? The heron explains she made it "to eat." The fox is flummoxed. He goes to work on his house and cleans himself up. He invites the bird to his newly made dining table to share pie, and the two become fast friends who eat and visit together.
One simple act of unexpected kindness turns around the fox's life and outlook. How simple is that? Focusing on friendship and loneliness, young readers will feel empathy for the lonely fox and love the kind heron. They will cheer the unlikely duo's friendship and revel in the gorgeous illustrations evocative of children's fairy tale books like Mother Goose and Grimms' Fairy Tales.
A must have for every collection. This is one of the most beautiful picture books I've ever encountered.
Ages 18 months and up. Simply lovely.
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