The Winter Fox

A girl's affection for her pet rabbit is matched by her concern for its safety when she overhears her father saying a fox has been seen in the area. Her fears build (``I was sure the fox was as big as a tiger and as strong as a bear''), then recede when she returns to the cozy warmth of the kitchen. After the fox spirits the rabbit from its hutch, the girl accompanies her father on a hunt for the predator. When she finally catches sight of the hungry animal, the girl's surprising reaction proves utterly believable. The story's honest ending is imbued with equal parts hope and gritty, intriguingly unresolved tension. Thickly layered onto heavily textured, dark paper, Garns's pastel illustrations convey winter's chilly light and a sense of the girl's foreboding. Brutschy's poetic narration is enriched by apt analogy and spare but telling particulars. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)