Small Readers: Fox the tiger; Fox is late by Corey R. Tabor

I really liked Tabor's Fox picture books, although some of the plot lines felt a little weak. Turns out, they translate really well into easy readers and I can't wait to add this set to my library!

Fox tries out what it's like to be somebody else in Fox the Tiger. A tiger book with a looooong fold-out page makes him think it must be cool to be a tiger and with a little black paint he gets to try out his wish! After all, tigers are the best - they are big, fast, and sneaky! When the other animals see Fox the Tiger out on the prowl, they get into the fun with Turtle becoming Race Car, Rabbit becoming Robot, and so on. But when the rain washes away their disguises, how will Fox feel about being Fox again? The cheerfully colored illustrations are set against generous white space with lots of textured greens, oranges, and soft blues. This title comes in at a reading level of E, which is a nice intermediate level and kids will appreciate the humor and relative comparisons in the book as Fox realizes that while he admires tigers, somebody else might think he is the coolest!

Fox is late shows Fox's more mischievous side. He's late for a mysterious event and as he races to his destination he acquires a team of enraged animals. He's flipped his skateboard over Rabbit, used Turtle as a ramp, done a nose slide on Elephant, and so on. The animals finally catch up to Fox at his house - where it turns out he was late for the lunch he was fixing for his friends! All ends happily around the table. There are concept words and multiple repeated sentence with one additional word, for example, "Fox gets food. Fox gets fast food." The simpler text brings this in at a level D and it's a good introduction to the character's sly humor and naughty personality.

Verdict: This is a fun new series to add to your easy readers. With a light amount of humor, attractive illustrations, and a memorable character, it's sure to attract young readers.

Fox the tiger
ISBN: 9780062398697

Fox is late
ISBN: 9780062398710

Published 2018 by Balzer + Bray; Borrowed from another library in my consortium