The Arctic Fox

By Author / Illustrator

Holly Webb, illus David Dean

Genre

Animals

Age range(s)

Publisher

Little Tiger

ISBN

9781788957144

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

03-10-2024

Synopsis

Ellie is so excited to spend her Christmas holiday in Lapland - they're going to visit Santa, go on a reindeer sleigh ride and watch the Northern Lights. She's even dreamed about seeing her favourite animal - the arctic fox.

Ellie's parents say this is unlikely, though, as hunting has left the species endangered. But when she hears a strange whining noise in the middle of the night, she follows the sounds and discovers a little arctic fox caught in a trap. Can Ellie rescue him in time?

A magical wintry tale from best-selling author Holly Webb. For fans of Michael Morpurgo and The Snow Foal, this is the perfect book to snuggle up with and enjoy this winter.

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Reviews

Laura

Ellie and her family are about to travel to Lapland for their Christmas holidays, and Ellie is excited for the special family holiday. On a school visit to a museum before the end of term, Ellie becomes intrigued by the idea of arctic foxes and after some research finds that they are still rare in Finland after being hunted for many years, but even so she can't stop dreaming about seeing one in the wild.

We then travel to Lapland with Ellie and her family, which is very exciting and the scene setting is beautifully magical. The family enjoy the magic of Lapland, with Santa visits, sleigh rides, and views of the Northern Lights. But Ellie keeps thinking about the arctic foxes and hoping to see one. One evening, she wakes to the sound of a faint wail and follows it until she discovers a young Arctic fox caught in a trap...

I was a little confused by the time shift at first, as it is unclear why they are suddenly talking about a girl with a (very slightly) different name, so this confusion stilted the flow of the book for me. However, once I was over that, I continued to enjoy the beautiful nature descriptions and the lovely bond between the girl and the fox.

The illustrations throughout the book are beautiful and add to the magic and beauty described on the pages. Young animal lovers, children with a desire to travel and explore, and any child looking for a cosy wintery read, will enjoy this book. This is the first of the Winter Wildlife series that I have read and I'm definitely going to look out for more.

160 pages