A moving and immensely beautiful record of the year that author Cherie Mason befriended a wounded fox - the victim of a steel-jaw leg-hold trap, he showed up outside her home on Deer Isle, Maine, one day - Wild Fox is a poignant examination of the relationship, both harmful and helpful, between humans and wildlife. It is also just a fascinating story of a most unusual experience! As Cherie Mason asks at the beginning of her narrative: "Have you ever touched the nose of a wild red fox?" responding: "I have."

Textually dense, Wild Fox is a non-fiction picture-book that would be best for upper elementary school students and above - those who are at the chapter-book level, I think - although younger children with a good attention span might also enjoy it. The artwork by Jo Ellen McAllister Stammen, done in soft shades and natural colors, is simply lovely, perfectly capturing the sense of enchantment that is to be found in this story of a brief but meaningful encounter between members of two species. As a fox lover, I was close to tears at points, reading this book, and cannot recommend it highly enough. ( )

Grade: 2-4
Genre: memoir
Themes: patience, animals
The author has in encounter with a hurt wild fox and begins to feed it. The story describes her year with the fox and how she was able to touch its nose. She knew it was a wild animal and as she began to feed it, it kept coming back. The author would sit and watch the fox eat and she then began to wait for it every day. It is a short story and I think I would use it as a read aloud to younger children who had just begun to read chapter books. Conversations could be around wild animals, patience, and safety. ( )