The Slightly Spooky Tale of Fox and Mole
- Paola Dell Acqua
- May 13
- 3 min read
Can a Fox and a Mole be good friends?
Authored and Illustrated by Cecilia Heikkil ,
Translated by Polly Lawson
Copy of the book kindly provided by Floris Book via Edelweiss
Published by Floris Books due September 2025
ISBN: 9781782509530
Ages: 6+ Pages: 44 Themes: friendship, tolerance, acceptance, sharing
Description:
Fox and Mole live side by side, alone in the headland. During summers, they enjoy the company of other friends, they chat or play by the sea. But as autumn draws in, they will only have each other again to spend time together. Days become shorter and Mole visits Fox everyday to share stories -and carelessly eat everything Fox has prepared during the summer: jam, cookies and fruity tea. That way they spend the afternoons: Fox reading spooky stories and being a good and attentive host and Mole being disconsiderate to the extreme of forgetting Fox's birthday!
What happens when Fox, who is generous, tidy and responsible tolerates Mole's selfishness for too long?
It is up to you to discover the spooky transformation that takes place!
What I liked about the book:
A simple delightful story about an unusual friendship, full of feelings to explore! The Slightly Spooky Tale of Fox and Mole will take readers from humour to spooky situations
This is a longer picture book -44 pages- presented in chapters ideal for young readers who are starting to read alone.
The subtle creeping uneasiness of this gothic tale will get children hooked till the end. Surprise awaits at the turn of every page!
The Slightly Spooky Tale of Fox and Mole is a heartwarming story to teach children -and adults- about the differences friends may have and how,when it is true friendship, problems can be solved. It is also about learning to communicate, to express worries instead of remaining silent until they turn into uncontrollable anger! It is a story about feelings, fear of being alone.
image from Cecilia Heikkilä
I love the illustrations!! Brownish colors, typical of autumn, are the predominant palette; lines across the pages can make one feel the wind upon the face. It is full of details, which can be used to make predictions.
Fox's eyes are very expressive; his face changes as he gets more and more frustrated and everything turns darker. On the other hand, when the rage is over, the story recovers its soft colors and Fox gets his tender, friendly look back.
The doble-page spreads are simply gorgeous, for example when Fox has transformed and he outsizes the page, not to mention those eyes!! Scary!!
Ideas to work with the book:
The story can be used to talk about:
friendship and what it takes to be a good friend.
reflect upon the importance of expressing worries.
the importance of recognising one's faults.
activities that can be shared with friends
the importance of sharing and being kind to others
a connection between feelings and seasons
steoreotypes
It can also be used to learn about:
different seasons.
characteristics of animals such as Fox and Mole
ghost stories
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