A Fox Found a Box

by Ged Adamson

Overview

When his radio breaks, a little fox finds that the forest is filled with its own rhythm and music—drip drops and chirp chirps—in this picture book that gently introduces the concept of mindfulness.

A little fox is digging for food when—OUCH! What is that?—the fox finds a box! When the fox brings the box home to his animal friends—and turns a funny-looking knob—the box starts to sing, and music fills the forest. Everyone agrees that it feels nice. Day and night, they listen to the box's songs, until, one day, it goes quiet. No matter what they try, they just can't get the box to sing again. The animals stop swishing their tails and flapping their wings.... But, in the silence, the fox hears the drip-drop rhythm of melting icicles and the thump thump of a beaver's tail and comes to realize music is everywhere. The noises of the forest and the animals build into a symphony, until, eventually, everyone joins together in a joyous dance party.

From the author of fan favorite Douglas, You Need Glasses!, here is a wonderful celebration of music—and appreciating the little things that have surrounded you all along.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781984830531
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	10/29/2019
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,140,923
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD480L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

GED ADAMSON is the author and illustrator of Douglas, You Need Glasses!; I Want to Grow; Shark Dog!; and most recently, Douglas, You're a Genius! He has worked as a cartoonist, a storyboard artist, and a composer. It was always his ambition to write and illustrate picture books. Ged lives in London with his family. Learn more at gedadamson.com and follow him on Twitter at @ged_adamson.

Editorial Reviews

07/08/2019

In wintry watercolors and colored pencil drawings, Adamson (Douglas, You’re a Genius!) tells the Zen-like story of a group of forest creatures who learn to listen deeply. While searching for food beneath the snow, Fox unearths a “box” (a little blue radio). At first, the object flummoxes Fox and the other creatures. They fiddle with the antenna and dials until, with a “click,” the box begins to emit noises, which Adamson visualizes with music notes and colorful instruments. The animals “swish their tails, flap their wings, and move their feet,” feeling by turns “dreamy,” “sort of sad,” and the urge to “ROCK OUT.” When one day the radio stops playing, the critters mourn the singing box, then awaken to the sounds of the forest: “the whoosh-whoosh of the wind,” “the gurgle-gurgle of the river.” Before long, they’re noticing and appreciating sights, smells, even the experience of catching snowflakes on their tongues. Adamson’s joyful scenes emphasize the quiet contentment to be found in nature, issuing a call to pay attention, technology in hand or no. Ages 3–7. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"This introduction to the sensory pleasures of music and nature makes a fine winter's tale for story time or bedtime." —Kirkus Reviews

“Will have readers looking at the world with fresh eyes.” —Booklist

“This an easy choice for a rollicking storytime…. The watercolor and pencil art combines soft dapples with slightly exaggerated forms to give the forest friends an appealing playfulness." —Bulletin

From the Publisher

10/07/2019

PreS-Gr 2-A small red fox is searching for food beneath the snow when he discovers what he and all of his woodland friends believe to be a small, blue box. After playing with some buttons, the box, which is actually a radio, begins to sing, and all of the animals quickly begin to dance. Each day, they listen to music that makes them feel dreamy, sad, or ready to rock out. When the box stops singing one day, Fox and the other animals discover that there is music everywhere in the forest—the drip-drop of the rain or the sound of snow crunching under their paws. The adorable, lighthearted narrative paired with the charming illustrations rendered in sketchy colored pencil and cool watercolor washes cleverly communicate the vital message of this tale. VERDICT A refreshing ode to the music of the forest and the beauty of the natural world. Recommended for all picture book collections.-Brianne Colombo, Fairfield Free Public Library, NJ

School Library Journal

2019-07-14
When Fox finds a radio while digging for food in the snow, he and his forest companions become transfixed by the music it produces, finding that it has the power to affect their feelings.

When the box stops making noise, the animals try to revive it. "But nothing would make the box sing again." This newly recaptured quietude permits Fox to hear the "drip! drop! drip! drop!" of water droplets making a puddle. "Fox's whole body moved to the drip-drop beat." The other animals hear forest sounds, too: the whooshing wind, chattering geese, the "crunch-crunch of snow…[a]nd the gurgle-gurgle of the river." Their senses quicken to all that their wintry habitat affords. "And every night, the animals would…let the forest sing them to sleep." (Sharp-eyed kids will note that Owl is awake.) Adamson's onomatopoeic text pays fond tribute to music's power to evoke and shape emotions. His narrative presents children with lovely examples of nature's own ability to sing to us, if we open our senses. Washy watercolors, accented with colored pencil against plenty of white space, charmingly portray the creatures' expressions of wonderment, anxiety, and contentment.

This introduction to the sensory pleasures of music and nature makes a fine winter's tale for storytime or bedtime. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews