Natalie and Rachel Go Foxing

Two sisters. One enchanted forest. Two very hungry foxes.Natalie and Rachel live in a log cabin at the edge of the redwoods, and every day between morning chores and sunset belongs entirely to them. Rachel is the older one - she reads everything and intends to be a woodcutter. Natalie is almost never scared and dreams of cities with buildings taller than the trees.Some days they build forts. Some days they sail rafts across the pond. And on one particular day, lying in a meadow watching the clouds go by, a small voice in the tall grass says: "Excuse me, miss. Could you help us?"Two fox cubs are starving. Their mother has been trapped by the farmer over the hill; winter is coming, and their burrow is barely a hole in the ground.So the girls don't go looking for a grown-up.They go looking for a shovel.Over four days they split their sandwiches four ways, dig until their arms ache, and build the cubs a real house - walls woven from branches, earth packed in for warmth, moss layered on top so the rain runs off. They give the foxes names. They discover that foxes are terrified of bears, and that explaining what a teddy bear is takes rather longer than you'd expect.And when the woods grow too dark to see, the foxes offer their tails so the girls can find the way home.But there's still a mother shut in a shed over the hill. Getting her out will take a dirty dress, a good story, and Natalie's talent for crying on demand.A gentle, funny bedtime story about kindness, hard work, and two girls who see a problem and get busy fixing it.Perfect for: - Reading aloud - written with natural stopping points, one illustration every other page- Ages 5-9, whether they're reading on their own or curled up listening- Kids who love animals, forests, and building things