This tender, moving story will certainly tug at your heartstrings. On a cold and wintry night a pregnant fox is looking for shelter to birth her kits. She is drawn to a house, in a small village, that is filled with warmth and could provide safety for her. She is firmly turned away and forced back into the frigid, windy night with no where to go. A little boy is standing very still and watching through his window as all this transpires. He witnesses the treatment of the poor fox and watches as she finds an opening and enters into their greenhouse to find shelter from the brutal elements. His heart is touched by her loneliness and needs, so he bundles up and takes her out a basket of food to sustain her for the night. What he finds there is not only the vixon but tiny, baby kits suckling her. He respectfully sets the basket down a safe distance away from the little family and returns to his bed. In the dawn the mother fox and her newborn babes know they have to move on before they are discovered. Before they go they leap through the boy's window, leaving beautiful flowers on his floor that fill up his room. It is their magical way of expressing gratitude for his gracious act of kindness.The illustrations are not digitally designed. Princesse Camcam created brilliant paper cut scenes/settings that are carefully lit and photographed. This can be seen in the paper edges that can be found in the illustrations in moments like the folded white edge of paper under the boy's feet as he walks through the snow. All of the trees in the story are cutouts, meticulously drawn and then silhouetted with scissors. The book moves from dusk to dawn, through moonlight and shadow and sleep. The vixon is portrayed as a wise, resourceful creature showing dignity and prowess. The little boy recognizes her worth and enables her by offering her food and in return she can feed her kits. Another beautiful feature of the book is that it is wordless, allowing the reader to be the storyteller. The publisher, Enchanted Lion Books, prides itself on its "Stories Without Words" series. They import wordless books from around the globe, format them into long, slender books, thus proving to the world that storytelling is universal. I just love the whole concept and their books have such heart.This stunning book is certainly one to be borrowed from your local library or purchased for your own collection. I highly, highly recommend it. An act of tender compassion is given (and repaid) in secret during an icy winter night. "One snowy night, a fox loses its way, entering a village. Chased away by the grown ups, Fox takes shelter in a greenhouse. A little boy sees this from his window. Without hesitating, he brings a basket of food to the greenhouse, where he leaves it for the fox. His gift is noticed and the night becomes a garden of new life, nourished by compassion and kindness. Princesse Camcam's cut-paper illustrations, along with the beautiful lighting of the sets she creates, make the experience of looking at these illustrations both touching and transcendent. Their beauty and essential simplicity reflect the beauty of the story. The reader is left charmed by the fox and the child and thoughtful about the emotional lives of both humans and other creatures."-- Provided by publisher.
What do You think about Fox's Garden (2014)?
I could stare at this book for hours. Very interesting and beautiful illustrations!
—Chantelle
Very short book with cut out illustrations a lot like paper dolls.sweet story.
—Jhordin14
Beautiful wordless story about compassion, kindness, and gratitude.
—sumu
There are no words for the beauty and warmth that is this book.
—book061
This word-free picture book is visually stunning.
—hotelcity1999
