One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller
This book calls itself a thriller, and it is indeed. Through use of engaging text and alliteration, enticing illustrations, and a suspenseful storyline, this is much more than a counting book. Anticipation increases (along with the numbers) as readers watch a sly, famished fox creep its way toward three unsuspecting hens. Once he arrives, both the excitement (and counting) hit an all-time high. The author assures readers at the end of this thrilling tale that “no hens or foxes were harmed in the making of this book.” That is one big relief.
Pennsylvania Center for the Book Awards
Book Activities & Discussion Ideas
Invite children to read and count along during the sharing of this thrilling tale. Point to the numeral, the words, and each picture as you read them. For example, the reader will say and point to “2” and the children will repeat “two” while looking at the number 2; then the reader will say, “Two sly eyes,” tracking each word as you say it and again as the children repeat it. Ask one of the children near you to point to the two eyes of the fox on the page. Continue this method of reading the story and the numbers to the end. Finger pointing helps an emergent reader and viewer learn to look carefully at print while supporting two important early reading behaviors—directional movement and voice-print match. Eventually, children will begin to track with their eyes as they become stronger in their literacy skills.
One Fox: A Counting Book Thriller is a terrific title to explain some of the components of picture books and how they enhance a child’s beginning literacy. First talk to adults about the front and back endpapers of a book. In this case, many-colored fox paw prints illustrate the front endpapers, while the back endpapers show multi-colored chickens. It’s an opportunity to discuss the idea of predicting what the story might be about. Predicting helps children prepare for reading and begin to make meaning. You might ask children to start thinking about what might happen between the fox prints in the beginning and chickens at the end. Another component of this picture book is that all of the pages are double-page spreads. A double-page spread means that the text or the image crosses over the binding in the middle to create one page. Some picture books will have a combination of double-page spreads and single pages of text and images. These page distinctions influence how a reader’s eyes move when reading and looking at the illustrations. Remind adults that when they point and count objects from left to right or top to bottom they are teaching their children an important tracking skill in learning to read.