A Fox, a Pig, and a Dig

April 1, 2024
Fox and Pig have some fun--and laughs--in the sun. Perky pals Fox and Pig, with Fox's doll (Mister Fox) in tow, decide to head to the beach. Pig enjoys napping (and slurping on a refreshing beverage). Fox, on the other hand, prefers to dig. While Pig slumbers, Fox attempts to trick his porcine friend by making a sand sculpture of himself and pretending to be buried under it. That scheme ultimately backfires, but Fox isn't deterred. He tries again. This time he digs a hole to hide in, throws Mister Fox into the sea, and screams for help. As the tide comes in, Fox's hole fills with water, and he uses a straw to breathe. Pig isn't fooled--"I know THAT fox is just a doll"--and decides to cool off by jumping into the small pool. Oh no. He lands on a lump. Is that Fox underneath him or a creature from the sea? As with others in this series, color-coded speech bubbles, rhymes, and word repetition help support (and entertain) emerging readers. Fenske uses a simple, limited vocabulary, with a few longer words such as underneath, creature, and COWABUNGA. This three-part romp (more like two with a short third) takes familiar characters to a summery new setting. The silent crab character provides extra comedic relief while witnessing the cartoonish antics. A breath of fresh air for the series. (Early reader. 5-7)

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June 14, 2024
Preschool-Grade 2 There is Fox and there is Pig. They like to nap. They like to dig. In a beach trip told in three short stories, Fox tries--successfully and unsuccessfully--to play tricks on his friend Pig. He makes a fake version of himself out of sand and hides himself in a tiny pool after shouting for help. Some of it works, and some of it backfires wildly, but all of it is good-natured, charming, funny, and delightful. It is remarkable and admirable how much action and emotion Fenske packs into an easy reader for the earliest emerging readers. The color scheme is simple and appealing, and the characters are full of personality, energy, and expression as they splash, build, lounge, and play in this seaside story, Pig with his sunglasses and Fox with his bucket and pail. Using incredibly simple language, sight words, clever rhyme, context clues, graphic novel-style panels, and color-coded speech bubbles, the latest in the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor-winning Pig and Fox series is a wonderful treat.

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January 1, 2024
In this early reader comic with a simple but effective rhyming text, Fox plays tricks on Pig during a day of digging on the beach, but gets his comeuppance each time. Helpfully for new readers, each speaker's speech bubbles are a different shape and color. The thick-lined digital-looking illustrations' palette, with plenty of yellows and blues, is appropriate to the beach setting.

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)