The Fox and the Star

A couple of days ago I stumbled upon this beautiful  book  – “The Fox and the Star”, written and illustrated by Coralie Bickford-Smith. Although it’s supposed to be a children’s book, I think adults might enjoy it just as well.

Here is what the blurb reads: “Once there was a Fox who lived in a deep, dense forest. For as long as fox could remember, his only friend had been Star, who lit the forest paths for Fox each night. But then one night, Star was not there, and Fox had to face the darkness all alone…”

“The Fox and the Star” is a touching little story about overcoming your fears, stepping out of your comfort zone, and accepting change. Because sometimes you have lose and let go something precious first in order to find something even more precious. It is a book about friendship, about making friends and grieving friends.

Since it’s a children’s book, it doesn’t take many words to tell the story. Yet the illustrations speak for themselves. They are minimalist and playful at the same time.  While many children’s books are cluttered with colour, there are rarely more than two colours used on one page in this book. Black-and-white (or black-and-grey, respectively) even dominates on many pages, while others shine with bright foxy red. Still, I found this to be a rather melancholic read, but maybe this is the book seen through adult eyes only.

Coralie Bickford-Smith is a London-based illustrator working for Penguin Books. Many of you might already now her adorable book-cover designs for the Penguin clothbound Classics Series. “The Fox and the Star” is her first work as author/illustrator and I sincerely hope there are more books like this to come.

Lisa v. D.