By Christian McKay Heidicker
New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2019. Fiction.
Seven young foxes wander deep into Antler Wood in search of an old storyteller who tells tales scary enough to "put the white in your tail." What better way to hook a bunch of kits in need of adventure? The Old Storyteller begins to spin the story of two fox kits, Mia and Uly, who are separated from their families and lost, alone to face the horrors of the woods. At first, their scary stories seem separate but as the tales become progressively scarier, Mia and Uly's paths begin to cross. And of course, as each story gets scarier the seven fox kit listeners begin to leave the Storyteller's cavern one by one.
This horrific Newbery Honoree is certainly for the brave - for those looking for their next scary story to tell in the dark. What makes this book so unique is that, as the title suggests, these are scary stories for young foxes meaning the horrors in the book are specific to foxes. Mia and Uly face poisonous snakes, rabid animals, hunters, trappers, a taxidermy-crazed Beatrix Potter, and others. And, though the fears and behaviors of Mia and Uly are fox-specific, they are based in all the tropes of classic horror.
Comments