Scary Stories for Little Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker

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Heidicker, C. (2019). Scary Stories for Young Foxes. (J. Wu, Illus.) Henry Holt and Company.

      An adventurous tale with a tinge of horror, this book follows three separate plots that slowly come together as one. Our first plot is one of a litter of kits wanting to hear a story that is so frightening it will turn the tips of their tales white. They go to the den of an older fox that is known for sharing this kind of tale. This plot is what mainly pushes the book forward, coming in between each scary story to serve as a palette cleanser and to engage the reader. The kits listening to and engaging with the story serve as surrogates for the reader, asking the questions they are bound to be asking themselves and sharing reactions. Encouraging the kits to keep listening and paying attention, the old fox is also engaging with the reader, compelling them to continue reading as well.

    The other two plots alternate until they come together, one following a kit named Mia and the other following a kit named Uly. Both characters are faced with harrowing events in their first stories and continue to face challenges throughout the book. Their harrowing events reflect common horror stories that the reader is sure to recognize: a zombie story and a boogeyman story. The reader will be intrigued enough to keep reading to see how this version of the classic horror tales turn out. Through each story, the two main foxes continue to face horrifying challenges, some similar to classic horror tales and others fox specific, but eventually come together, linking the two plots and creating a new grander one. Through this new plot, the reader watches these two fox kits grow into adult foxes, learning how to survive in a harsh world. Both are travelling to look for someone important to them, continuously staring death in the eye in every tale. The reader will stay engaged wanting to find out if they ever find who they are looking for and even more if they will even survive the journey.

     Because there are horror elements, the building of tension is a big component and style of this story. Heindicker does this well by both using common horror tropes and accelerating the pace when necessary. During action filled moments, the words flow seamlessly allowing the action and tension to move the reader through quickly as the reader would want to know what happens and reach the end as fast as possible to find out. There are some moments of introspection and connection that slow down the story, giving the reader a moment to take a breather and take in the deeper themes present in the story. 



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