And, Too, the Fox

In soaring lines of poetry that feel as graceful as the creature they describe, Limón (In Praise of Mystery) considers a fox seen in a fenced backyard, “flashing across the lawn,// squirrel bound and bouncing” with characteristic vulpine leaps. D’Alessandro (The Cot in the Living Room) uses a strong digital line and sleek, stylized elements to show the fox against backdrops of sunrise pink and dusky blue. Here, the figure is seen suspended in midair before landing to pounce, engaging in almost casual-feeling pursuit of smaller animals that “doesn’t seem/ like work at all but play.” On the street at night, the fox explores garbage bags out for collection, assembling “a living out of leftovers// and lazy/ rodents too slow for the telephone pole.” Though the fox is visible to two humans silhouetted in a home’s window, its life and the lives of its witnesses do not meet: the fox “never cares how long you watch...// never cares// what you do once he is gone.” The sense of having entered the world of a wild animal for a few unexpected moments lingers in this refreshing picture book encounter. Ages 5–9. (Jan.)