School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-A beautiful book that relates the adventures of deer in their natural habitat. Shadow, the mother of a three-day-old fawn, is forced to leave her baby to seek water, while nearby a red fox begins hunting food for her own young. When she happens upon the fawn in its camouflaged location, a pheasant sounds a warning, Shadow rushes to defend her offspring, and the episode concludes with the two of them safe in the enveloping darkness. The simple text is descriptive enough to give a sense of place, exciting enough to have an element of suspense, and sensitive enough to convey the care and protection of mothers for their young. Double-page watercolor illustrations in soft, natural tones form an impressionistic background for closeups of realistically drawn forest creatures. Eyes shine and coats look so real that readers can sense how they must feel. This title has all of the positive elements of an animal story without being overly anthropomorphized, and is written on an easier level than Jean Craighead George and Sal Catalano's The Moon of the Deer (HarperCollins, 1992). Use it with Tom Wolpert's Whitetails for Kids (NorthWord, 1991) to present facts about deer behavior. A welcome addition.-Diane Nunn, Richard E. Byrd Elementary School, Glen Rock, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
A feast more for the eyes than for the ears, this admirably researched story introduces a thirsting deer who steals away anxiously to a nearby lake, leaving her three-day-old fawn. Though she is absent only briefly, fear and uncertainty envelop her like the thickening mist in the forest. She returns barely in time to rescue her fawn from a mother fox hunting a meal for her two hungry cubs. Butler's lifelike illustrations, worked with gouache, watercolors and air brush, capture uncanny details even as they suggest the diffuse, vapory air of the damp forest. Their intimacy and nobility pose a challenge to language; first-time author Radcliffe's diction is precise and unadorned, clearly supporting the artist's work, and the layout reflects this subordination of text. The author's and the artist's understanding of wildlife behavior and habitats shines through--their nature tale has both drama and integrity. Ages 2-6. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Shadow, a doe, leaves her young fawn while searching for food. When a fox mother finds him untended, Shadow rescues the fawn in predictable fashion. Neither nonfiction nor fantasy, the story succumbs to cloying anthropomorphism and provides feeble support to fine nature paintings by the well-known British artist. From HORN BOOK 1993, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ages 5-8. Terror permeates this picture book from England. The story begins with a deer named Shadow leaving her newborn fawn alone while she looks for food. At the same time, Redflank the fox stalks off in search of a meal for her cubs. Sensing impending doom, Shadow races back to the bramble, arriving just as Redflank is about to attack her sleeping offspring. Beautiful paintings feature background landscapes that are softly focused, with a strong sense of color, form, and light and shadows; the foreground animals are sharply defined, with a strong sense of anatomy. At the tale's end, "darkness fell and the screech of an owl filled the forest. Shadow would not leave her fawn again that night." Certainly, not a tale to encourage childhood independence. ~--Julie Corsaro
