Gray Fox in the Moonlight

Simple storytelling and a moody palette of grays, blues, and yellows document the nighttime explorations of a sleek gray fox venturing home to its sleeping kits. Basic subject-verb-adverb descriptions of the fox’s movements (“Gray Fox/ walks// so lightly”) mingle with quiet moments of observation (“The breeze/ moves slightly”). In one spread, the fox, presented in shadowy silhouette, looks skyward through a stand of largely bare birch-like trunks, through which “the stars shine/ between the leaves.” Peterson’s text works neatly alongside crisp graphic renderings, whose varied textures catch the eye. As the sun fills a final page with warm tones, the fox curls up beside her young—a gentle reminder that even the nocturnal must find time to rest. Ages 2–8. (Jan.)