FernFolio

An animal who hunts by night and likes his solitary, nocturnal existence, Fox awakens unexpectedly one morning to the knowledge that something is about to happen. He joins hundreds of other animals, all of them traveling with their mates, in a trek that lasts for many days and takes Fox and his traveling companions far from their natural habitats. At night they rest, the lions with the lambs,

…tooth and claw and fur and feather,
They all lay down to sleep together.

By day they journey on, driven by a sense of urgency and the gathering black clouds, through forests, across plains, and past ruined cities until, at last, they reach their goal, Noah’s ark. There Fox is startled to find his mate, a vixen who has been awaiting his arrival. Together they are welcomed aboard the ark just as the rain begins to fall.
Gorgeously illustrated with plasticine pictures full of tender and funny details, Fox Walked Alone is a splendid prequel to Barbara Reid’s Two by Two, her story of Noah’s Ark, published in 1992. It has been nominated for the 2008 Blue Spruce prize.
FernFolio Editor