Review by Booklist Review
As media tie-ins go, this is a no-brainer. Even without the power of the viral video to back it up, the premise of the book is child friendly, incorporating actual animal calls (Dog goes woof. / Cat goes meow. / Bird goes tweet / and Mouse goes squeak.), as well as a variety of silly noises, which will go down as a treat during storytime (Jacha-chacha-chacha-chow! / Fraka-kaka-kaka-kaka-kow!) Meanwhile, the concept of the fox's sounds as a mystery to be unlocked provides just enough of a element of plot. The illustrations, however, attempting to capture the frenetic surrealism of the video, might be harder for a child to embrace. Nyhus' digitally rendered pictures fall somewhere between the Fauves and the Cubists, with a fiery red fox who is on one page defined by fluid, emotive expressions and on another by sharp angles. The other animals are similarly depicted, sometimes overwhelmingly so. Whether this book will be able to maintain its appeal beyond the life span of the video remains to be seen, but for now, kids will want to catch that mysterious fox.--Dean, Kara Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Horn Book Review
Here's a picture book representation of Norwegian comedic music duo Ylvis's titular YouTube hit. The text consists entirely of the nonsensical lyrics; the incessant refrains of varied gibberish "fox sounds" make for labored recitation at times ("Joff-tchoff-tchoffo-tchoffo-tchoff!"), but some kids may have fun giving it a go. Nyhus's jarringly stylized digital illustrations, vaguely recalling Native American totem pole figures, undermine the silliness. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
