Fox and Hen Together (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Fox and Hen Together Elizabeth Bush Rodriguez, Béatrice ,. illus. Fox and Hen Together. Enchanted Lion, 2011. 26p. ISBN 978-1-59270-109-4 $14.95 R 3–7 yrs In this wordless picture book, the refrigerator’s offerings are a little sparse in Hen and Fox’s tree-trunk abode, so Hen leaves the comfort of her rocker, entrusts the egg she’s been tending to Fox, and takes up her fishing pole to score some dinner. Accompanied by a little red crab (who’s strangely untroubled by the prospect of a seafood dinner), Hen hooks a fat green fish, only to have it promptly caught up in the talons of an eagle, who swoops fish, Hen, and crab off to its eaglets’ nest. The squawky eaglets toss the intruders out, and they land in the sea where they’re chased by a ferocious, eel-like sea monster who takes them for a Nantucket sleigh ride until Hen gains control of the fishing-line reins and rides the monster onto [End Page 42] shore. Hen triumphantly returns home and finds her egg cracked and lying beside a frying pan. Suspecting the worst, she prepares to bean Fox, only to discover that he’s in the rocker tending her hatchling, and they can all celebrate with flutes of bubbly and a feast of fish and sea monster, roasted on a very long spit on the beach by starlight. This is nonstop action fun, touched with cartoon-type humor and revolving appealingly around food. The long lines of the horizontal trim allow Rodriguez to pack a lot of visual activity into each full-bleed spread—sometimes a series of actions, and sometimes a broad panorama. Slightly dusty shades of sea green, grayish blue, and rusty orange make for a sophisticated palette that will attract viewers who may think themselves immune to the charms of a wordless story. Rooster’s Revenge is promised to follow hot on Fox and Hen’s heels; fans will be ready and waiting. Copyright © 2011 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois