XO, OX: A Love Story

by Adam Rex, Scott Campbell (Illustrator)

Overview

Dear Gazelle,

For some time now I have wanted to write a letter to say how much I admire you. You are so graceful and fine. Even when you are running from tigers you are like a ballerina who is running away from tigers.

I think that what I'm trying to say is that I love you.

XO,
OX

And so begins an epic, if initially unrequited, love affair between a graceful gazelle and a clumsy, hapless ox. Romance will never be the same.

Adam Rex's hilarious, sweet, and at times heartbreaking letters between a hopelessly romantic ox and a conceited, beautiful gazelle are paired perfectly with Scott Campbell's joyful illustrations to bring you a romance for the ages.

A Neal Porter Book

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626722880
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	01/03/2017
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	459,514
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD610L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Adam Rex has written several books for young readers including the New York Times–bestselling Frankenstein makes a Sandwich and The True Meaning of Smekday. His picture book School's First Day of School earned seven starred reviews and was a New York Times Bestseller. He lives now with his wife and son in Tucson.

Scott Campbell is a maker of paintings, illustrations, comics, kid's books, and video games. He studied illustration at the Academy of Art in San Francisco, focusing on comic and children’s book illustration. He is the author/illustrator of Hug Machine. XO, OX is Scott's first book for Roaring Brook Press.

Editorial Reviews

Scott Campbell's…watercolor-and-colored-pencil illustrations in dusty pinks and greens and terra cottas are charming and wonderfully expressive. Will some of the nuances of the humor be lost on this book's target audience? Perhaps, but they'll absorb the aspirational message anyway—shoot for the stars, and don't give up!—and their parents will have a chuckle.

The New York Times Book Review - Julia Livshin

★ 10/17/2016
She’s a famous, glamorous, and vain gazelle. He’s a salt-of-the-earth ox with a gift for plainspoken eloquence. Their journey toward romance is a rocky one, captured by Rex (How This Book Was Made) and Campbell (Hug Machine) through an epistolary format and luscious sepia-toned watercolors. Ox begins the correspondence with a declaration of love that seems like it would melt the hardest of hearts: “Even when you are running from tigers you are like a ballerina who is running from tigers.” Gazelle, who swans around her mansion in a wardrobe befitting a 1930s movie star, is unmoved and sends back a form letter and autographed picture—twice (“I have many admirers and cannot reply to each one personally”). But Ox persists (in a non-stalkery way, it should be noted), and his good-humored self-awareness and unflagging devotion eventually win her over. Rex and Campbell don’t end with a romantic clinch, but with delicate evidence of Gazelle’s changed heart—though the endpapers will satisfy diehard romantics. It’s about as lovely (and funny) a story of opposites attracting that one could ask for. Ages 4–8. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"Kiddos who liked Campbell’s Hug Machine (2014) will get a kick out of this, too."— Booklist

"Persistence pays off seems to be the message in this bracingly un-Valentine-ish love story."—Kirkus

"It’s about as lovely (and funny) a story of opposites attracting that one could ask for. "—Publishers Weekly, starred

From the Publisher

04/01/2017
K-Gr 2—In this epistolary picture book, Ox, who has admired the lithe and lovely Gazelle from afar, finally sits down with paper and pencil to profess his admiration and affection. Gazelle replies with a form letter and a signed photo of herself. Not one to be dissuaded, Ox writes again, and the vain gazelle's response is exactly the same. Ox tries flattery, complimenting her intellect as well as her beauty. Not wishing to be repetitive, Gazelle personalizes her reply: "There is no need to write me again." Ox next commends her sense of humor. Gazelle lashes out in frustration and states emphatically that she could never love someone "so thick and ungraceful and awful and unlovely. And unlovable." The thick-skinned ox retorts that at least she is able to admit to having a fault, which makes him love her all the more. This gives Gazelle pause and forces her to reassess her feelings… at least enough to continue the correspondence. This tale of the attraction of opposites and the power of words is simply told and charmingly illustrated. Campbell's whimsical watercolor and colored pencil artwork features sepia outlines and earthy hues on Ox's pages and more textured patterns and shades of pink and purple on Gazelle's. The notes are easy to read, and the sensibilities, emotions, and body language are child-centric and brimming with humor. VERDICT A sweet and tender Valentine choice for storytime or one-on-one sharing.—Luann Toth, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

2016-09-19
Children get their first lesson in unrequited love reading the letters between lovelorn Ox and self-centered Gazelle. To say that Gazelle is a narcissist is putting it mildly. And Ox? Well, ever heard the saying big, dumb ox? Ox, depicted in a white shirt with trousers held up by suspenders, begins the exchange by expressing his admiration for Gazelle and her graceful movements. A turn of the page reveals his correspondents answer: a form letter and signed glossy stuffed in an envelope by her assistant while Gazelle, clad in a flapper-style dress, lies on a chaise longue gazing in a mirror. Ox doesnt see it as a form letter, though, and thanks her for responding personally. Her reply? The same form letter, which Ox takes as a sign of her tidy mind. The letters degrade from there, going from a discussion of Gazelles faults (or lack thereof) to a letter stating outright that she could never love a smelly thingan animal that isso thick and ungraceful and awful and unlovely. And unlovable. Ox loves her even more for admitting this fault to him. This frustrates Gazelle, who rips his picture to shreds. But the next page shows the start of a letter to him; she sits under his pieced-back-together picture, her heart seemingly softened. Campbells watercolor-andcolored pencil artwork uses old-fashioned, muted tones, patterns, and background details. Gazelle is elegant and haughty. Ox is moony and down-to-earth. Persistence pays off seems to be the message in this bracingly un-Valentineish love story. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

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