From School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2-A fluffy bipedal fox has a new red wagon and, as far as she's concerned, it's playtime right now. But Mom has a chore for her first. Lucy needs to go to the market. She's not enthused, but she does head off, shopping list in her paw, and takes along her imagination. Hedgehog, Rabbit, Raccoon, and others join her in fanciful play as the wagon becomes a boat, covered wagon, truck, or train while they make their way down the road. Lucy's Mom is pleased when she returns, task finished, and now it's time to play. Except, all that "work" actually means that the little fox is now ready for a nap. The illustrations are done with pencil and are colored digitally. The small childlike animals are fluffy, soft, and friendly looking. Although the story moves between fantasy and reality without much explanation, overall it offers an appealing-if not outstanding-slice-of-life story.-Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
*Starred Review* The creator of The Quiet Book (2010), a New York Times best-seller, offers a winning story of imaginative play that makes a worthy partner to Crockett Johnson�s Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) and Antoinette Portis� Not a Box (2007). Lucy, a fuzzy red fox, can�t wait to play with her new red wagon, but she doesn�t like her mother�s suggestion that she use it to go to the market: �That sounded like a chore. Lucy didn�t want to do chores.� Still, shopping list in paw, Lucy sets out, followed by a small menagerie of adorable animal pals. This title owes its delight to the well-balanced, deadpan disparity between the spare, straightforward text and the increasingly wild scenarios depicted in the digitally colored pencil illustrations. According to the words, the animals climb a hill, weather some rain, load up at the market, regroup after hitting a rock, and return home. The pictures, however, show a different story: along the way, the red wagon transforms from pirate ship to covered wagon to circus caravan to train to rocket ship to truck in detailed scenes children will want to revisit. Preschoolers will recognize the reality-blurring borders of their own made-up worlds; children on the cusp of independent reading will enjoy following the simple, bold-type sentences; and both audiences will hope for future adventures from Lucy and her friends. Preschool-Grade 1. --Gillian Engberg
