Tales and tails play off each other in this fun and sumptuously illustrated adventure. When five young girls from different walks of life, each unsatisfied with their current circumstances and united by a shared love of storytelling, are separately invited to a magical forest by an intrepid talking fox who appears unexpectedly in their lives.“There are stories waiting for you to help them grow, and there are tales that only you can tell,” the fox says, promising that each invitee’s unique skills are needed because “no good story gets a happy ending without a little help”—and further promising to return them to the precise time and place from which they departed. The girls agree, appearing in a storybook forest whose foliage “glittered like the inside of a treasure chest.”

The diverse cohort of young girls–Danielle, from California; Pax, in Tennessee; Eva in New York; Amy from Texas; Kex from Michigan–find much allure in the promise of adventure. Of young Eva, frustrated by her mother's workaholism on a planned trip to the New York Public Library, Hewitt writes, “It was a beautiful feeling, being invited. To know that she was needed.” Eva is enticed by the promise of time travel and aiding others, and Hewitt deftly gives each participant her own compelling reasons for taking this chance.

With a whoosh and a thump the fun begins, as the fox transports the girls to the forest and then on fun jaunts: first, to a dusty town struggling with drought for years, and after that they join a sea captain determined to amass all the world's treasures. Can the girls observe, collaborate, and determine how to bring these tales to their happy endings? Only by combining their individual skills and working together will they have a chance to fulfill this goal. In frisky, engaging prose that is itself touched with forest magic, Finding Foxtale Forest weaves together themes of friendship, adventure, collaboration, and the power of storytelling, all while creating a delightful and engaging tale of its own.

Takeaway: Fun adventure of girls discovering magic, friendship, and the power of storytelling.

Comparable Titles: Jacqueline West’s Long Lost, Katherine Applegate’s Willodeen.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A