Fox is coming!

Gr 1--5--Eight baby chicks are chased around the farm by a confident, blue-eyed fox intent on capturing them. Kulka's talent is evident everywhere in these masterfully rendered and thoughtfully composed illustrations that work well with playful, skillful metered rhyming text to build the tension and suspense familiar to Patterson's massive following of older readers. The watercolor and digital illustrations will appeal to cartoon fans while also attracting those who enjoy a more sophisticated stylized use of texture, color, shadow, and perspective to give depth and energy to the vibrant and visual storytelling. The narration volleys perspective back and forth between anthropomorphized Fox's individual view and the collective and vulnerable chicks while the fast-paced story moves along; there is delight to be had as expectations mount and the urgency of Fox closing in on his quarry intensifies. Rhyme and meter fall away elegantly as the narrative tension breaks and the absolute joy of the chase fully enters the picture. VERDICT This is a pleasurable read-aloud for intergenerational pairings, as well as a book younger readers will want to reread often.--Jessica Fenster-Sparber

What is Fox planning? Fox is carefully monitoring eight little chicks. "Fox is coming! / Hide away." And off they go. Before setting off after them, the sly fox ties a kerchief onto a stick, perhaps to hold captured chicks. Trying to outwit the fox, the chicks run and flap throughout the farm, hiding in any place that might provide safety, or at least a temporary respite: maybe nestled among the large tree roots, in a hollow log, in the tin cans strewn around a foraging goat, or even among pigs in a muddy hole. All the while, the other farm animals look on benignly. But wherever the chicks run, the fox is not far behind, eagerly grabbing one or two of them at a time and placing them in that kerchief. Told in simple rhyming couplets, the tale will have youngsters following along with breathless anticipation as the desperate chicks careen around the farm in very bright, colorful, sharply defined illustrations, sometimes in wide angle, sometimes close up. The overall-clad fox's expressions are by turns thoughtful, intense, and triumphant but never overtly menacing. When all the chicks are in the bag, the story comes to an unexpected, reassuring twist. The book is essentially a reworking of Kulka's earlier work,Wolf's Coming (2007), with co-author Patterson joining in as part of his recent series of collaborations. Delightful, surprising, and all in good fun.(Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.