A family of fox kits sneaks out to hear stories that are supposed to be so scary they will "put the white in their tales." Six young foxes sit together as the stories begin, but as the heroes of the stories face sickness, familial betrayal, a giant water lizard, and a crazed taxidermist, one fox after another sneaks away to the safety of their own den. As the storyteller warned at the beginning of her tale, only those who are brave enough to last until the end will find the stories contain, not only terror, but also love.This book won a Newbery honor medal last year. It is a unusual book. You wouldn't think that stories about anthropomorphized foxes could be very intense, but they are. Heck, I almost sneaked away like the little foxes did after the first couple of stories. The writing is lovely, and, like I said, very intense. I am not quite sure what, if anything, the book was meant to accomplish, except maybe to reassure the reader, that, no matter how bad things get, there can still be better times ahead. That said, I would not give this to any child unless they specifically asked for a scary story. It could make a sensitive child have bad dreams for weeks, especially if they didn't finish the book. Especially disturbing is the story about the an knife wielding Beatrix Potter. She puts even Dolores Umbridge to shame. (2019, 314 p)
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