Blog Tour: Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee

Maybe a Fox by Kathi Appelt and Alison McGhee. 261 p. A Caitlyn Blouhy Book/ Atheneum Books for Young Readers/ Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing, March 8, 2016. 9781442482425. (Review from arc courtesy of Blue Slip Media)

Any school or children's librarian worth his or her salt takes Reader's Advisory very seriously. When you do, you read many, many books for children and young adults. If a book is quite exceptional, you start to make a mental list of the patrons you will share the book with. At least I do. I knew exactly who was getting Maybe a Fox. This is a lovely, lyrical story of loss. 

When you share books with a community of readers, there is, invariably, a portion of your reading community who love sad books; who gleefully share how much they cried and enthusiastically recommend their favorite weepies to you and their friends. Their devotion to the saddest of the sad books may dismay their parents. It might even cause some parents to apologize to you when they introduce themselves to you. 

If you are lucky enough to have such children in your life, give them this book.

Where to begin? Sylvie, Jules and her father were a tight triad of love and support since the girls' mother died suddenly many years earlier. Ever protective Sylvie supplied Jules' memories of their mother. She also was the fastest runner in their Vermont school. Jules was a rock hound who was always on the lookout for the perfect wishing rocks. The girls, and their best friend, Sam, would bestow a wish on such a rock and fling it into the Slip, a rather treacherous spot in a nearby river - a place their father told them to avoid.

One snowy morning, Sylvie ran off. Jules built a snow family that, inexplicably, included a fox while she waited. And waited. And waited. She finally followed Sylvie's tracks in the snow until they end abruptly at a root at the bank of the Slip.

Not only is Sylvie gone, but her body was never recovered. Jules and her father, reeling with the loss, draw closer together. But their's is not the only story of loss in their rural town. Even though Sam's brother, Elk, has returned from Afghanistan, his best friend, Zeke did not. Elk mourns his loss and Sam mourns his brother's change. Sam also longs to spot a catamount, an eastern cougar, in the woods.

Heavy material for middle grade, no? The two authors have a light hand as they weave a dual narrative - Jules' first-person story and a third person story of a vixen and her kits, one of whom is a girl. This little fox is no ordinary fox kit, but chosen to be a kennon, whose life and destiny will be inextricably bound to one human girl. While there is tremendous loss, there is slow, sure healing among this close-knit community. 

While the characters in Maybe a Fox are vividly real, there is so much to savor. The cover is absolutely gorgeous. The evocative rural Vermont setting may make readers long for a walk in the woods, possibly searching for Sam's mysterious totem, the catamount. The power of wishes, the hope for the return of a possibly extinct animal, the lore of magical foxes act as counterweights to the tragedy and help in the healing. 

There will be tears, many tears.

Maybe a Fox, has garnered multiple starred reviews. Kirkus called it "Intriguing as a story of connections with the animal world and, for perceptive readers, filled with solace." It is certainly on my list of 2017 Newbery contenders.

Click on this link to view a gorgeous trailer for that book created by Kathi Appelt's talented son and daughter-in-law.

Here are the stops on the blog tour:

Fri, Mar 4	I Read Banned Books
Mon, Mar 7	Watch.Connect.Read
Tues, Mar 8	https://www.crackingthecover.com/
Wed, Mar 9	Sharpread
Thurs, Mar 10	Proseandkahn
Fri, Mar 11	YABC
Mon, Mar 14	OWL for YA
Tues, Mar 15	Kid Lit Frenzy
Wed, Mar 16	Teach Mentor Texts
Thurs, Mar 17	Unleashing Readers
Fri, Mar 18	Mother Daughter Book Club

About the authors:

Kathi Applelt is the New York Times best-selling author of more than forty books for children. Her novels for older readers include two National Book Award Finalists: The True Blue Scouts of Sugarman Swamp and The Underneath, which also was named a Newbery Honor book. Visit her at kathiappelt.com.

Alison McGhee is the New York Times best-selling author of Someday, as well as Firefly Hollow and the Bink and Gollie books. Visit her at alisonmcghee.com.

Thanks to Barb from Blue Slip for allowing me to share this memorable book.

Fire and Ice (Spirit Animals Book 4) by Shannon Hale

Fire and Ice (Spirit Animals Book 4) by Shannon Hale. 185 p. Scholastic Inc., June, 2014. 9780545522465. (Finished copy courtesy of publisher for review)

Confession time: I must own up to reacting with a bit of yawn upon receiving an arc of Wild Born, book one of this new multi-platform, multi-author series from Scholastic. I did not rush to read it. I found the 39 Clues series to be a bit over-the-top and never read any of its spin-offs as my patrons (middle school) really never asked for them. I read and enjoyed the first book or two of the Infinity Ring series, but they don't circulate either. For some reason, my kids don't find time travel books appealing. I have a few faves that are a really hard sell. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead seems to be the lone exception.

It wasn't until the second and third books came my way for review about the same time a fifth grader came into the library looking for the series that I settled in to read book one. Click here for my review of books 1 - 3.

In Fire and Ice, the four young heroes and their adult companions journey to Arctica in the frozen north in search of the talisman of Suka, the polar bear. I mentioned in my review of the earlier installments that the action got a bit repetitive. 
Not so in Fire and Ice. This one's the best one yet. It's layered, a bit more introspective and, um, obscure. There's a fair amount of description of the seemingly barren, frigid land and the people who inhabit it are rather unique, a bit unfriendly and very difficult to read. Rollin, whose strength is reading people and situations has difficulty sussing out these folks. Some young readers may miss the violent clashes between the Greencloaks and the Devourers but I kind of enjoyed the break. In each book, one of the four seems to confront difficult choices and it's Rollin's turn to keep some secrets here.

If readers up till this point are wondering, as I was, how the Devourers seem to know or anticipate their every move, answers might be due in book five, Against the Tide by Tui T. Sutherland, due out September 30. It seems there is a traitor in the midst. I also discovered that a "special edition," Tales of the Great Beast by Brandon Mull and others is due out in October.  

 

Spirit Animals Series

Scholastic rules the roost with multi-author, multi-platform series. The newest one to come down the pipes is Spirit Animals. Seven books are planned, each written by a different author. Click here to read the line-up of authors. I read the first three pretty much in a row and am reviewing them together.

Wild Born (Spirit Animals #1) by Brandon Mull. 224 p. Scholastic Inc., September, 2013. 9780545522434. (Purchased).

Wild Born (Spirit Animals #1) by Brandon Mull. Unabridged audiobook on 5 compact discs. Read by Nicola Barber. Scholastic Inc., September, 2013. 9780545600385.

Hunted (Spirit Animals #2) by Maggie Stiefvater. 185 p. Scholastic Inc., January, 2104. 9780545522441. (Finished copy courtesy of publisher for review.)

Blood Ties (Spirit Animals #3) by Garth Nix & Sean Williams. 186 p. Scholastic Inc., March, 2014. 9780545522458. (Finished copy courtesy of publisher for review.)


In the world of Erdas, there is a rite of passage for every child, regardless of class, around their eleventh birthday. They must drink the Nectar provided by a Greencloak in a public ceremony to determine whether the child will summon and bond with a spirit animal. Four different children, two girls and two boys, in four different parts of Erdas summon the Four Fallen, the four animals who sacrificed their lives defending Erdas against the Devourer and his followers many years before. It seems that the followers of the Devourer are rising in power again and the Four Fallen have returned to assist the Greencloaks in a new battle. 

Conor, servant to Devon, the son of the earl, summons Briggan, a wolf. Devon is furious and embarrassed because he did not summon a spirit animal as he expected. Rollin is a jailed orphan and totally uninterested in the Nectar ceremony or becoming a Greencloak, yet he summons Essix, a hawk when the Greencloak insists. Meilin, disciplined warrior-daughter of a general, is disappointed to have Jhi, a peaceful panda as her spirit animal. Abeke, thought she would become her tribe's rainmaker. Instead, she summons Uraza, the leopard and unknowingly spends time training with some minions of the Devourer before being rescued by the Greencloaks.

I listened to books one and two. The narration by Nicola Barber was measured. The pace was almost leisurely despite the increasing conflict and number of battle scenes. 

In book 2, each of the four have inner conflict added to their quest to obtain some talismans before the Devourers. They also have to improve the bond between themselves and their spirit animal as well as learn to trust each other. Unfortunately, they need to do this without the guidance of their adult mentors for the most part. Conor and Meilin make crucial decisions that put the needs of their family before the needs of Erdas

In book 3, there is some dissension in the group as Meilin has left to aide her father and Abeke and Rollin's trust in Conor is gone. The four are at their most vulnerable just as The Devourers seem to be strengthening.

While some of the action seems a bit predictable and slightly repetitive, there has been enough character development and interesting twists to ensure that readers (at least this old fogey) stay invested in continuing the story. Readers who visit the series website can create their own spirit animal, play games and join forums. Book 4, Fire and Ice by Shannon Hale is due out June 24.