Becka Moor, Foxtrot, Five Mile Press, 1 September 2015, 32pp., $35.99 (hbk), ISBN 978 1 76006 3412
Children will love this tale of a quirky fox who dances everywhere, oblivious to the chaos he is creating. The story not only presents all sorts of enticing dances, including the tango, mambo, jive and boogey, but also introduces words such as ‘mayhem’, ‘calamities’ and ‘petrified’ that may also be new to young children. The hilarious illustrations make clear what they all mean. There is further real humour as Foxtrot’s friends try to devise ways to stop him dancing and he finds new ways to entertain himself, finally deciding to reopen the dancing school of his retired teacher, Mrs Flamenco. The illustrations perfectly capture the insouciant Foxtrot and the changing attitudes of his friends. Small versions of the dancing Foxtrot have been used to create fabulous endpapers. Highly recommended. Ages 3-6.
Reviewed by Elizabeth Douglas