Four Famished Foxes and Fosdyke

A fox who flambees and fillets? Unfeasible? Not according to this alliterative tale, which introduces chef Fosdyke and his four siblings: Frank, Floyd, Freddy and Flo. When the quintet's mother scurries off for a five-day trip to Florida, all the young foxes but Fosdyke decide to ``filch fowl from the farmyard'' for food. But on repeated raids of the henhouse (conducted on February 4 at the F-filled times of 4:15, 4:45 and 5:15 a.m.), they come up empty-pawed. Fortunately, an apron-clad Fosdyke has prepared a feast of fries, fungi, fish and figs, which his siblings warm to after their final failure at fetching fowl. (``What fascinating flavors,'' they cry.) Cole's (illustrator of Some Small Slugs, also by Edwards) ink and pastel illustrations of masked foxes, egg-throwing chickens and bandaged tails add a healthy dose of energetic humor to the tongue-twister text. The book also offers a challenge--``How many objects beginning with the letter `F' can you find in this book?''--for those who feel finding F's is fantastically fun. Ages 4-9. (Sept.)