FOX PLAYS BALL

New readers win when they play football with Fox and company.

Fox’s spiky ears emerge from an old-school helmet, Bear wears purple vintage headgear, Elephant has donned a baseball cap, and Rabbit sports an upside-down sieve. Wearing only the standard shell, Snail wants to play, too—cheered on by a ladybug fan (alas, not Tabor’s Sir Ladybug character). Everyone wants to win! Steadying the ball with a trunk, Elephant expertly lofts it “far…very far”—toward a nearby snowcapped mountain. The chase is on: The animals speed after the ball on a skateboard, a scooter, and a bike, while unflappably smiling Snail moves at a snail’s pace. As the ball ricochets dramatically (depicted with rapidly careening dotted lines), Fox, Rabbit, Bear, and Elephant all miss the catch—as does Snail. When the animals all dive for the ball, Snail sensibly seeks the shell’s security. Because they all pile on Fox, the ball pops out…right to Snail! As the ladybug wildly applauds, Snail wins! And Fox sportingly congratulates the winner with “Good game!” Tabor’s perennially clever, stylish art offers unexpected perspectives and angles, and the action scenes will keep readers in suspense. In the more sedate scenes, the understated illustrations will allow youngsters to concentrate on the few and well-chosen words and to appreciate Tabor’s subtle scene-setting, buildup, and humor.

Another victory from a master of the early reader.