How to Find a Fox

by Kate Gardner, Ossi Saarinen (Photographer)

Overview

**Winner of the Mockingbird Award**

Look for tracks. Listen for yips. Be as still as a pebble.

​Taking kids on an imaginary trek through different landscapes and seasons, How to Find a Fox celebrates one of our planet's most graceful and enchanting creatures: the red fox. Ossi Saarinen's stunning wildlife photos and Kate Gardner's lively and informative words capture the magical and profound connection between animals and humans. Readers will be inspired to get outside and make their own discoveries—maybe with a camera in-hand, just like Ossi.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780762471355
Publisher:	Running Press Book Publishers
Publication date:	09/28/2021
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kate Gardner has not yet seen a fox in the wild (though she did meet a few in captivity while writing this book). She is the author of Lovely Beasts: The Surprising Truth and Snow Falls. Kate lives outside of Boston with her husband and pets.

Ossi Saarinen is a wildlife photographer in Finland. He delights his social media followers with photos so adorable that they have been described as real-life fairy tales. Follow Ossi on Instagram: @soosseli




 

Editorial Reviews

"Saarinen's photos are phenomenal...A beautiful book that will draw readers out into nature and put their patience to the test."
 —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"This riveting picture book introduces foxes through encouraging words and exceptional color photos. Beautifully composed and lit, Saarinen’s photos invite comparison with the work of the best nature photographers in children’s books…. A captivating book for animal lovers."—Booklist, starred review

"Deftly capturing the majesty, mystery, and downright good looks of foxes, this book is the rarity that proves the rule. Kids don’t get enough truly great photography on their shelves. All the more reason to hand them this, if only to watch their eyes pop right out of their little heads. From rollicking cubs, to extreme close-ups, to landscape shots where the fox is simply a small figure against a sweeping autumnal background, the variety of images is part of the book’s unique lure. You’re simply not going to find a book with photographs of foxes quite as good as this one for kids out there."—Elizabeth Bird, Fuse #8 blog, School Library Journal

"One of this year’s best picture books."——Julie Danielson, 7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast blog

"Fun and informative, How to Find a Fox is an ideal and highly recommended addition to family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and community library Wildlife picture book collections."—Midwest Book Review “Children’s Bookwatch”

From the Publisher

★ 2021-08-18
Gardner’s text will tell readers about red foxes and how to find them, but Saarinen’s photos are the draw that will get them into the woods practicing their stillness and observation skills.

Brief text on each page, with the occasional paragraph of further information in a smaller font, presents readers with just the basics. Readers can look in the forest, the meadow, or the city and possibly spot a fox. Up-close photos of adorable foxes in each locale fill the pages. Similarly, children can look in the morning or afternoon, but dawn and dusk are best. Foxes don’t hibernate, so they can be spied through all four seasons. Gardner tells readers not to look in the sky, in trees, or in rivers or ponds, and don’t bother looking in the rain when foxes use other animals’ abandoned dens for shelter. She highlights foxes’ “fast feet, / amber eyes, / and…soft tail tipped in white” and describes what fox tracks look like (in contrast to two others, unidentified) and the sounds foxes make. The last hints are the most helpful for hopeful fox-spotters: “You must be as still as a pebble… / and as quiet as the moon. / You must be willing to wait…and wait.” Saarinen’s photos are phenomenal; amateur photographers will drool in envy and perhaps learn a few tips in his photographer’s note.

A beautiful book that will draw readers out into nature and put their patience to the test. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews