Review: Florence and Fox

Florence and Fox are friends, but they have different ideas about what friendship means.

Fox would like to borrow Florence’s hammer, but Florence says it isn’t possible because it isnt Sharing Day.

Fox has never heard of Sharing Day, but he lets it slide… until Florence wants something from Fox, and now Fox is confused. 

The sharing rules keep changing, and Fox doesn’t know what to do. He wants to be friends with Florence, but is Florence being a good friend to him?

Florence and Fox is a charming step inside kid life and a fun look at the struggles we all must navigate when it comes to sharing and generosity. Zanni Louise brings Florence and Fox alive on the page in this stunning picture book, delivering a story that is just so kid. The characters talk like kids and behave like kids. They think like kids and react like kids.

The story is real and relatable and not all picture books nail this. Louise’s writing draws you into the story world so much, the book reads like a movie playing out on the pages.

Anna Pignataro’s gorgeous illustrations help with this, too. Each spread is so richly detailed, so full of Florence and Fox’s world, a whole community lives on these pages in the most stunningly soft colours. Explore the park, the street, the neighbourhood as you turn each page and delight in the details through Pignataro’s unique mix-match illustration style. It’s a real treat.

Charming, fun and truly authentic. That’s Florence and Fox.

Title: Florence and Fox
Author: Zanni Louise
Illustrator: Anna Pignataro
Publisher: Walker Books, $28.99
Publication Date: 5 May 2021
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781760651350
For ages: 3 – 6
Type: Picture Book

May 8, 2021 at 12:34AM Shaye Wardrop