Little Fox and the Missing Moon

PreS-Gr 2–The animal detective who was introduced in Apples for Little Fox dusts off his favorite mystery books and polishes his magnifying glass to get ready to solve his next case. In this second installment, Fox goes on a mission to find a lost moon with the help of some friends. When they approach Rabbit’s house, Fox discovers the sliver of that moon being washed to a shine in Rabbit’s sink. The job is completed when he places the moon back in the sky where it rightfully belongs. Trukhan’s first-level mystery is about as rudimentary as her simple, yet boldly impressive illustrations. While Marjorie Weinman Sharmat’s Nate the Great solves true-to-life cases, Fox’s cases are preposterously fictional. The silliness of the premise, along with the lighthearted element of solving a basic mystery, is ideal for preschoolers first being exposed to this genre. The stark, bold geometric angle of Fox’s flashlight beaming in the dark—and across the next page—is as striking as the small, circular eyes peering out at him. The underlying message about teamwork is an equally noteworthy message.