Fox: A Circle of Life Story

by Isabel Thomas, Daniel Egnéus (Illustrator)

Overview

From the author and illustrator behind the acclaimed Moth, a scientific look at the circle of life.

In the frost-covered forest of early spring, fox is on a mission to find food for her three cubs. As they grow, she teaches them how to survive in the wild. Until one day, fox dies. Her body goes back to earth and grass and air, nourishing the world around her and bringing the forest to life. Death is not just an end, it's also a beginning.

With gorgeous illustrations and lyrical, kid-friendly text, Fox: A Circle of Life Story answers the big scientific question: What happens when animals die?

Winner of the 2023 AAAS/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Books!

A Horn Book Fanfare Best Book of 2021

A Booklist Editors' Choice Pick

Featured on the Children's Book Council's 2023 Teacher Favorites Award List

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781547606924
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	11/30/2021
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 10.15(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Isabel Thomas studied human sciences at the University of Oxford. She is a science writer and children's author who has been shortlisted for the Royal Society Young People's Book Prize, the ASE Book of the Year, and the Blue Peter Book Awards. She is also a primary school governor and STEM ambassador. Her previous books include Moth: An Evolution Story, which was also illustrated by Daniel Egnéus. She lives in the UK.

Daniel Egnéus collaborated with Neil Gaiman on an illustrated edition of American Gods and also illustrated Moth: An Evolution Story, The Raven Child and the Snow Witch, and The Thing. He is a well-regarded fashion artist, too, regularly illustrating for the likes of Chanel, H&M, Nike, and many more. He was born in Sweden and now makes his home in Greece.

Editorial Reviews

08/30/2021

In this nonfiction picture book from the creators of Moth, luminous collage-style images warm a narrative rooted in birth and death. A long sequence of spreads shows a mother fox hunting for food, then returning to her three cubs, who roughhouse and play at hunting while she’s gone. Then, in a single, shocking moment, the mother fox is struck and killed by a car, her copper figure shown against the blue sky: “Her heartbeat slows/ her last breath hangs in the air.” Following this event, Thomas turns to the process of decomposition: “Mites and magpies take their share.// Flies and beetles visit too,/ laying their eggs/ where they know/ brand new life can/ feed and grow.” What of the cubs? They look on curiously, then return home. The warm introductory family story of the first section and the dispassionate exploration of the second feel like disparate elements tacked awkwardly together. Older readers interested in the natural world and truths about predators and prey may be intrigued. Younger readers beguiled by the lovely fox family may find it upsetting. Ages 5–7. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

* An adept and impressive handling of a sensitive subject.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“* A touching, gorgeously rendered story that demystifies death.” —Booklist, starred review

“* Extraordinary in writing and illustration.” —Horn Book, starred review

“An admirable book, beautifully presented.” —School Library Journal

“Luminous collage-style images warm a narrative rooted in birth and death.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

12/01/2021

PreS-Gr 4—This sensitive subject of the circle of life starts sweetly, with the fox mother's life and the joys and responsibilities of raising her young, then turns its focus on her sudden violent death, decomposition, and her contribution to nature. A well-written text along with the attractive art will fill a needed subject area, and it is an admirable teaching tool. However, preschoolers, attracted by the appearance of material, may not be ready for this book without first sharing it with an adult. The mother fox is hit by a car, and subsequently picked apart by magpies, with her flesh in their beaks, while beetles lay their eggs in her corpse. Yet, once explained, the material is accessible to preschoolers, because the beginning has simple text and illustrations that match the action. Older children will find a fuller description at the end. VERDICT An admirable book, beautifully presented, and meant to be shared intentionally and carefully with its audience.—Nancy Call, formerly at Santa Cruz P. L., Aptos, CA

School Library Journal

★ 2021-07-30
The cycle of life in the natural world is explained using a fox as the subject.

In this thoughtful picture book, a red fox hunts and feeds her family of three cubs; as the cubs play-hunt, they grow into learning to hunt for real. Then the mother fox is hit and killed by a car. This aspect of the story is presented without anthropomorphic emotion: “Three cubs look around / sniff the ground, / hesitate… / then pad back home.” The story continues, focusing on the fox’s body and what is happening to it as it decomposes. Staying with unemotional science, the narrative tells how the decomposing body nourishes life, from the scavengers and microbes that feed on it to the nutrients it releases to the soil and air. In this way, readers come to understand that death and life are inextricably linked and that death is a catalyst for new life. The collage-style, full-color illustrations show the maturing cubs continuing to thrive, reassuring readers and reinforcing the circle-of-life theme. The illustrations vary presentations, alternating double-page spreads, spots, and full-page spreads. The images of the foxes are lively and delicate, while the forest world depicted creates an evocative setting. A thorough, scientific explanation of what happens to the physical body after death is presented at the book’s end. Members of a human family briefly illustrated have black hair and light beige skin.

An adept and impressive handling of a sensitive subject. (Picture book. 5-10)

Kirkus Reviews