Foxy

by Emma Dodd, Emma Dodd (Illustrator)

Overview

Foxy has a special talent: He is magically able to produce anything he needs from his bushy red tail.

Sometimes Foxy comes up with the wrong solutions, such as the time he tried to give his friend Emily an eraser for school and gave her an elephant instead!

Fortunately, Foxy's magic mishaps can always be fixed. And he knows that some very important things—like making new friends—don't require any magic at all.

In this humorous tale of friendship, award-winning author-illustrator Emma Dodd introduces a truly endearing new character with a great big heart.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062014191
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/26/2012
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Emma Dodd wanted to be an illustrator as far back as she can remember. Her parents were both designers, and she grew up in a home near London that was filled with pencils and pens and papers and books. Emma studied graphic design and illustration at Central Saint Martins School of Art, London, and has worked in advertising, editorial, and book illustration. The recipient of several distinguished awards for her picture books, which are published in the US and the UK, she won the prestigious 2010 Booktrust Early Years Award given by the UK's most important literacy charity. Emma lives in England with her husband and two children and their Jack Russell terrier, Bart.

Emma Dodd wanted to be an illustrator as far back as she can remember. Her parents were both designers, and she grew up in a home near London that was filled with pencils and pens and papers and books. Emma studied graphic design and illustration at Central Saint Martins School of Art, London, and has worked in advertising, editorial, and book illustration. The recipient of several distinguished awards for her picture books, which are published in the US and the UK, she won the prestigious 2010 Booktrust Early Years Award given by the UK's most important literacy charity. Emma lives in England with her husband and two children and their Jack Russell terrier, Bart.

Editorial Reviews

In a reassuring tale about first-day-of-school jitters, a girl commiserates with a magical but accident-prone fox. Curly-haired Emily is sleepless beneath her flowered comforter when Foxy (accompanied by a bluebird) prances through her window. “What’s the matter?” asks Foxy. “Whatever it is, I’m sure I can help.” Emily admits she might need a pencil and eraser to start school properly. Foxy confidently waves his “magic tail,” producing a penguin and an elephant. The startled bluebird puts a wing over its beak, and Foxy conjures the correct items. Before long, Emily giggles at Foxy’s errors (“And here’s a schoolbag!” “No, silly, that’s a pirate flag!”) and nearly forgets her anxiety. Foxy is tucking the penguin and other supplies back into his voluminous tail when Emily ventures, “What if nobody likes me?” “Now, you don’t need my magic for that, Emily,” Foxy replies. “I know you’ll make plenty of friends.” Dodd’s digital art, traced in inky black and sprinkled with candy-colored stars, zooms in for closeups and out to picture Emily’s ordinary room. Dodd (Meow Said the Cow) projects a cheerful attitude, combining make-believe with practical necessities. Ages 3–7. (July)

Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 1—Emily cannot go to sleep because she is worried that she won't have all the things she needs for her first day of school. Her friend, Foxy, is sure that he can help her with his magic tail, and grandiosely waves it at Emily's every wish--only, the tail doesn't always work as he hopes. Emily needs a pencil and Foxy's very bushy big tail produces a penguin; for a pencil case it produces a bird cage; and for an eraser, an elephant. However, second tries work better, and so Emily goes to sleep with all her supplies in her book pack, and only one last concern: "What if nobody likes me?" But Foxy assures her: "Now, you don't need my magic for that, Emily… I know you'll make plenty of friends." The child is shown on the last spread happily entering the schoolyard followed by a host of amiable youngsters. The illustrations are bold and bright, filling each page, and dominated on most by Foxy's tail, all red and white with magical stars surrounding it. Children will love its goofy missteps and empathize with Emily's anxiety about school. A good read-aloud selection or a one-on-one bedtime treat before a child's first school day.—Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA

School Library Journal

A very young girl's first-day-of-school jitters prompt a nighttime visit from Foxy, whose magical tail causes "school supplies" to appear, fairy-godmother style. Emily is an adorable, rosy-cheeked tyke with curly red hair, black button eyes and the terrible worry that she will not have the right school supplies, hence the visit from the magical Foxy. A swish of his tail produces a pencil…or not. Close, but not quite--it's actually a penguin. Luckily, the second time's a charm. But subsequent requests also produce mix-ups: a birdcage instead of a pencil case, an easel in place of a notebook, an elephant (life-size) rather than an eraser, a pirate flag instead of a school bag. Emily is ever polite, sweetly correcting Foxy when he is wrong and thanking him when he gets it right, commenting, "I guess magic is hard." And when her next worry arises--that she is not smart enough--Foxy's tail fills her head with knowledge, which prompts her to remark, "I think I would rather learn these things at school." Her last worry, that no one will like her, does not require any magic to dispel. The silly humor that characterizes many of Dodd's other books is evident here, text and digital illustrations pairing seamlessly to create chuckles. Kids nervous about their own first day may just fall asleep wishing for their own Foxy visitor. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews