“Once there was a Fox who lived in a deep, dense forest. For as long as Fox could remember, his only friend had been Star, who lit the forest paths for Fox each night. But then one night, Star was not there, and Fox had to face the darkness all alone…” This is an illustrated fable about friendship, loss, and courage–a children’s picture book for all ages. I was a little disappointed with the storyline but this is still a lovely book.
Some books are simply beautiful as objects of art. This is one of them. Coralie Bickford-Smith is an award winning Hardcover book designer at Penguin. She is known for the elegant pattern illustrations that grace countless new editions of Penguin classics. I saw a whole shelf of them in the bookstore the other day and I was thrilled to know who the cover artist was! Now she has written her own story. The pages are thick and the illustrations mostly blue/grey but with smatterings of vibrant colour. There are whimsical rabbits and beetles hiding in places and sometimes you have to hunt for the words on the page. Though I’m a Kindle reading fan in many ways, I have not lost my love for the feel and heft of a book in my hand, and this book feels like something special.
Reading and enjoying the illustrations in The Fox and the Star made me realize how I appreciate simplicity in patterns, doodling, and colouring. My sister was into Doodle Art for awhile; she made gorgeous cards and prints from nothing more than hard paper and a felt tip pen. Adult colouring books are all the rage now. Just google it. Many are marketed as stress relievers. I bought this one a few months ago and have it in the living room with a package of felt tip markers. I found it in a bookstore alongside the bestseller novels! I do admit to having done some colouring from time to time and I like knowing that it is there for guests or anyone looking for something to do that isn’t electronic. Simply the feeling of pen on paper can still be a pleasure.
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