Fox & Rabbit Make Believe [Fox & Rabbit]
by Beth Ferry; illus. by Gergely Dudás
Primary    Amulet/Abrams    96 pp.    g
9/20    978-1-4197-4687-1    $12.99
e-book ed.  978-1-68335-983-8    $11.69

In their second volume, Fox and Rabbit return for five new loosely connected adventures as summer turns to fall. Flush with their lemonade-stand earnings from the previous book, they start by treating themselves and their friends to ice cream. This leads to a bubble-gum blowing contest (and an unfortunately necessary trip to the hairdresser for Fox), a playground adventure, a corn-maze escape, and an idyllic afternoon carving pumpkins. The brightly colored comic-panel art develops and helps clarify details and plot points in the story, and its soft, round lines give the characters and settings an endearing, huggable quality. Fox and Rabbit carry the tales, but other animal friends repeatedly show up — ever-hungry Sparrow, new friend Owl with the wonderful imagination, and Turtle, who tends to miss everything due to chronic tardiness — adding gentle tension and humor. The stories lightly touch on worries such as being embarrassed or feeling left out, but all the characters are innately sympathetic and kind to one another, making for a comforting graphic novel for younger readers.

From the January/February 2021 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.