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A review by jstimmins
Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker
2.0
I just didn’t like it. I can acknowledge the beauty and effectiveness of the fox-POV descriptions. And it’s true that I came to admire Mia and Uly very much. But the story wavered from the beginning with its tale of instant rabies transmission, lost me with the section about Beatrix Potter, turned ridiculous when there was a swamp full of alligators near to Beatrix Potter’s home, and collapsed entirely when the established in-story rule about rabies (that it instantly turns its victims mad) didn’t apply in the very last section of the story.
One more complaint: There are several pieces of the story-within-a-story that Mia could not have known. There's the first, truly frightening moment when Roa thinks he's safe from Ms. Vix and then sees that his little brother will be able to attach him, and later, the moment when Mr. Scratch stalks the top of the cliffs. How could Mia know, and share, either of these things? There's nothing in the text to indicate that she's embellishing -- it just feels like authorial oversight.
I might have liked the story more, or at least forgiven it some of its flaws, if it hadn’t won a Newbery Honor. This was by no means one of the most distinguished texts for children published in 2019 that I have read.
One more complaint: There are several pieces of the story-within-a-story that Mia could not have known. There's the first, truly frightening moment when Roa thinks he's safe from Ms. Vix and then sees that his little brother will be able to attach him, and later, the moment when Mr. Scratch stalks the top of the cliffs. How could Mia know, and share, either of these things? There's nothing in the text to indicate that she's embellishing -- it just feels like authorial oversight.
I might have liked the story more, or at least forgiven it some of its flaws, if it hadn’t won a Newbery Honor. This was by no means one of the most distinguished texts for children published in 2019 that I have read.