Fox & Rabbit

Gr 2-4–This collection of five stories centers on supportive pals Fox and Rabbit. Whether Rabbit is helping Fox work up the courage to ride the Ferris wheel or Fox is assuring a worried Rabbit that swimming is fun, the two friends conquer fears together. Although these tales can stand alone, kids will have more fun reading them as a whole, since each chapter ends with the friends discovering an item such as a beach ball or a treasure map that propels them toward their next adventure. Their comical and high-spirited banter, full of alliteration and rhymes, complements Dudás’s colorful yet subtle cartoons. Using only the characters’ eyes and eyebrows to express emotions, the art is simple at first glance but will reward close reading. This book requires a significant amount of comic literacy, including the ability to sequence events across upwards of nine panels per page, decipher multipanel wordless action scenes, and navigate series of back-and-forth word bubbles in a single panel.