A Fox Called Sorrow (Little Fur)

Normally I shudder when I read a review that begins with "a delightful tale," but I'll be darned if that wasn't the first thing I thought after finishing Carmody's story. Little Fur's half-elven, half-trollish perspective on humans and their creations was comical, yet also bypassed the mishmash of facades and charades that we erect, leaving our constructs in their naked horror and disruption of the natural world...or perhaps I'm reading too much into a children's book.

Little Fur: A Fox Called Sorrow was shortlisted in the 2007 Children's Novel category for the Aurealis Awards. It was also shortlisted for the Lower Primary category of the Speech Pathology Australia Award 2007.

Little Fur: A Fox Called Sorrow is the tale of a young half troll/half elf healer that must go on a dangerous adventure to the cities beneath the earth with a group of animal companions. She meets a damaged fox with a strong wish to die, but an even stronger spirit. It is recommended for readers aged 10+.

This book was an excellent tale of nature's strengths and human folly. It was imaginative and inventive in its presentation in ways that could have easily come off as preachy or disapproving in other books. I found some sections show more to be devastatingly sad (mentions of animal abuse), which I imagine would bother a child from the lower end of the recommended reading bracket. It's illustrations are luscious and imaginative, decorated in a simplicity that adds to their charm. The book leaves some loose ends unwoven by the end of the story that seemed a little sloppy, but encouraged the reader to seek out the next book in the series. Beautifully packaged with high quality thick pages and a faux velvet cover, this book was a delight to the senses that made me want to return to it again and again. show less

A sweetly charming and relatively simple tale, that follows on from the fable "Little Fur". Carmody has a lyrical writing style, that would translate well to being narrated aloud, and also resounds poetically in the reader's spirit. With a slightly more complex plot than its predecessor, "Sorrow" also has a shadow of sadness - mainly in the character of Sorrow, the fox who wants to die, but whose body resists anything but a hero's death.