Outfoxed

Outfoxed

By Claudia Boldt

Published by Tate Publishing

Outfoxed is the humorous tale about a fox with a conscience. Harold is a smart little fox but finds himself facing a dilemma and his very own mystery to solve.

Meet Harold, he loves swiss cheese and his biggest dream is to be a detective but Harold's father believes it's time for him to catch a chicken. Harold knows where to find one and after catching one he's eager to show his father, but while explaining to the chicken that he doesn't plan to eat him, in a flash the chicken is gone. It's up to Harold to solve the case. He hunts for clues that lead him to a food van run by two wolves. Harold orders a 'whole chicken, fresh, not cooked,' and takes off with the chicken on a stolen donkey. He explains to his father that he outfoxed the two wolves and leaves the impression that he ate the chicken but really the chicken is long gone.. safely on a train!

Filled with colour, texture and patterns, there's hardly a white page in sight, which I like as there's a lovely uniqueness to the book. Not your normal picture book size, this small book has a lovely feel to it. The story starts as soon as you open the cover, no end papers here. 

Outfoxed is recommended for ages 4+ and is aimed at encouraging independent thinking. Children will enjoy following Harold and helping him solve his very own mystery.

Available in all good book shops and online here.

MINE!

MINE!

By Jerome Keane & Susana De Dios
Published by Hachette

When I first laid eyes on MINE! I was drawn in by the bright colours. Aoife is now 3 months old and is starting to notice different colours and shapes. Her eyes were instantly attracted to the bright yellow cover and the unusually coloured blue fox and pink horse - which in contrast work brilliantly with the yellow backdrop. 

MINE! tells the story about a bored Fox and Horse who come across a mysterious object which they both want. There’s two of them and only one ‘thing’, can they learn to share it? But what is this object they want so much and does it belong to someone else?

This is the second book from the collaborating husband & wife team Jerome Keane & Susana De Dios, who also brought us Ellie’s Bad Hair Day. Susana has used a very different style in MINE! With more bolder colours and a screen print technique which gives the book a graphic design feel. The character design and colours are very modern and I like how horse is a larger, taller character than Fox as it allows the characters to be compared to how a younger and older sibling may act in this situation. The text is also laid out in an easy to read format, which is ideal for younger readers.

I’d recommend this book to any new family - especially those with two small children. It has an important moral encouraging to share, but done in a humorous way - especially when the horse and fox are still reluctant to share at the end, even if it is for their own good!  

MINE! is available to buy in all good bookshops and online.