FOX SONG
by Joseph Bruchac & illustrated by Paul Morin
A storyteller known for retellings of Native American tales depicts a child who treasures and finds comfort in the many things her Abenaki great-grandmother taught her before her recent death. One morning, clinging to her dream of being with Grama, Jamie recalls gathering strawberries together, making a birch basket, seeing fox tracks in the snow, learning a special song of welcome. At the end, Jamie goes to Grama's special spot, sings the song—and is rewarded with a glimpse of a fox, a reminder (as Grama once said) that she's not alone. A quiet, gentle story, warm with nicely chosen details of old and young sharing lore of the natural world; Morin (Orphan Boy, 1991) provides paintings with impressionistic backgrounds luminous with golden sunlight and more specific rendering of the people, the fox, and the special handmade things Grama left behind. (Picture book. 4-8)