Rating: 5/5 stars

Around this time last year, I had the pleasure of reviewing Julia and the Shark; the first collaborative efford of Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Tom de Freston. It combined Kiran’s powerful storytelling with Tom’s beautiful monochromatic illustrations with a single accent colour to create one of the best and most memorable middle-grade novels I’ve read recently. I remember thinking; I wouldn’t mind if the would make this a “brand”. Well, my wish was answered with this spiritual sequel, about to release on October 13th.

Leila and the Blue Fox is a complete standalone story, but takes all the elements that made Julia so great, and builts upon it. Again, we have a layered tale of a young protagonist dealing with a tough personal situation at home, parallelled with a story of our natural world and one of the endangered animals within it. Again, we have stunning (equally layered) illustrations with the single accent-colour, to bring the story and atmosphere to life. And again; all these elements together add up to more than the sum of its parts, and make an impactful story about a potentially difficult topic approachable to young readers and adults alike. This time, instead of themes of mental health like in Julia’s story, Leila takes on migration; both natural- and human alike.

Like Julia’s, Leila’s story begins with a scientist mother chasing the endangered animal she studies, and a daughter chasing after the connection with her mother she feels she’s losing. Leila joins along with her mother Amani on an arctic expedition following the extraordinary migration of a polar fox across well over 2000 miles. A grueling track made out of necessity for this brave little fox to survive after its home was destroyed by climat change. On a ship on the arctic seas, Leila gets the chance to spend more time with her workaholic mother, and get to know sides of her she never saw. That includes the conversations this little fox’ journey brings up; stories of a similar one Leila and Amani undertook when Leila was only a baby. One away from a war-torn country, in search of a new and safer home…

Leila and the Blue Fox is an easy recommendation for me; if you’ve read and loved Julia and the Shark, you’ll be sure to love Leila’s story aswell. If you haven’t read Julia yet, but enjoy the same brand of hard-hitting middle-grade that transcends age-range as I do; I guess you have two beautiful books to add to your TBR instead of one.

Many thanks to Orion for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I cannot wait to get my hands on the finished product, as I can only imagine how beautiful this book is going to be visually in it's final form.

Leila and the Blue Fox is another stunning collaboration by Kiran Millwood Hargrave and her husband, the artist Tom de Freston, following on from the superb Julia and the Shark.

Julia and the Shark was such a unique, original book which combined a deeply moving story with beautiful illustrations and design, and I wasn't sure whether a second collaboration could have quite the same impact, but Leila and the Blue Fox is a brilliant book in its own right. There are several echoes of their first book, but Leila and the Blue Fox explores new ideas and feels completely fresh.

Kiran Millwood Hargrave offers us a multi-layered story. On a literal level, this is a genuinely gripping Arctic adventure based on an incredible true story about the real-life journey of an Arctic fox and the scientists who followed her journey. This is also the story of the relationship between Leila and her scientist mother Amani; like Julia in Julia and the Shark, Leila often feels sidelined by her mother who seems preoccupied with tracking Miso the fox, and the complex dynamics of this relationship are sensitively and poignantly explored.

On a deeper level, this is also a story about the different reasons that people and animals migrate. Although they rarely discuss it, we gradually discover how profoundly Leila and her mother have been affected by their previous journey from Damascus to London, as well as the ways they are still treated differently because of this. Miso's journey, meanwhile, is prompted by climate change, and this book also prompts us to reflect on the consequences of our relationship with the natural world.

Even without Tom de Freston's illustrations and Alison Padley's design, this would be a beautiful story, but the artwork elevates it to something quite extraordinary - the most gorgeous children's book I have come across since A Monster Calls. I reviewed a digital ARC from NetGalley and was blown away by this, so I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy. If Julia and the Shark is anything to go by, it will be a tactile as well as a visual delight!

Overall, this is a magnificent book which can be enjoyed by readers of almost any age. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC to review!

I have had the chance to read Kiran Millwood Hargreaves book Leila and the blue Fox which is out in September. It includes fabulous illustrations, from Tom de Freston throughout It's a gorgeous story about the relationship between a girl and her mother who's job takes her away from home. After needing to leave their home in Damascus and make their way to the UK Leilas meteorologist mother studies life in the Arctic and Leila finds it hard.On a visit to see her mum at work they get the chance to come together in support of the migration of a Blue Fox in its search for a better life. This is a great book and I think LOTS of our children will love this

I feel it necessary to preface this review by pointing out I have read several books by KMH to date, and with widely varying success. Mostly, I just don't gel with their writing. It's a me-thing, not a book thing, or an author thing... I entirely accept and appreciate that their writing is always STUNNING, and I do recommend them widely.

With that in mind, I wanted to try this newest Middle-Grade offering, in the hope that it being for a younger target audience might address some of the issues I have with the writing, and for the most part, it was a success. I think my theory is sound.

Here we have a lovely story that is beautifully explored. The messages here are perfectly navigated and handled with a delicate touch. The illustrations only add to the beauty and the charm of the story being told, and all-round presents the perfect package. I'm glad I tried this one, and it will make a perfect gift come Christmas-time.

This story is about Leila, a Syrian girl being reunited with her mother. A meteorologist and climate scientist, in Norway after a six year absence. It is also about Miso, an Arctic Blue Fox and her migration, 1000 miles and counting – to find safety. And so, we have the themes of migration, borders , belonging and the question of a persons right to have a home, to feel safe. Leila, as a young child, escaped with her mother, from the fighting in Damascus, she sent time in a detention centre and the trauma of that time has been repressed. By following Miso's journey, some of these memories resurface which makes the reunion with her mother difficult at times.

This is a wonderful story about the importance of finding a home where you feel welcome and safe. A book of hope.

Kiran Millwood Hargrave can do literally no wrong for me. This beautiful piece of art in book form is magical, enchanting and heart wrenching in all the best ways!

Leila and the Blue Fox is a truly beautifully tale, with interwoven narratives of the protagonist Leila, and a wild artic fox, as they are both forced to journey out of their normality and into the wilderness. With environmental issues at the forefront, this is a powerful story of the impact of humans on the world around us. It is also a story of hope, tenacity and finding your place in the world. I enjoyed it immensely and think it would be perfectly suited to readers in Year 6 and above. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

An absolutely stunning, beautifully told narrative. Interweaving the journey of the little fox (based on a real fox who travelled so far due to changing weather) and that of Leila who, herself has been forced to move, to travel due to circumstances beyond her control.

Hargrave captures the fragility of the mother daughter relationship - forced apart, and that of the fox's landscape.

Lyrical, tender and heart-warming - an exquisite tale.

gosh this is beautiful. A story of a girl, her relationship with her mam and a fox who travels thousands of miles. This hit me right where it hurt. This has brilliant messages about migration, how we should treat each other and about love. Incredibly illustrated too.

Leila and the Blue Fox is a beautiful read. Leila cares deeply about the world around her, yet doesn’t understand why her mother doesn’t want to be with her, but with a fox instead. Throughout the story, we learn of the journey Leila’s family made from Damascus to Croydon. The boat journey in the Arctic Circle to find Miso the fox stirs memories for Leila, and she has many questions for her mother. The illustrations marry beautifully with the text to create a magical world in which we discover the life of Miso and her journey. At the same time Leila is coming to terms with her relationship with her absent mother and where she fits into things. It is powerful, thoughtful, emotional and I am so glad I read it.

Another beautiful story by Kiran Millwod-Hargrave. Like Julia and the Shark it is about a Mum and daughter relationship running alongside the journey if the blue fox. This part is based on the true story of the journey of an arctic fox and I loved how the story was interspersed with the fox's thoughts and feelings.
Leila and her family had to flee Damascus, but Leila's mum left the UK for a job as a scientist in Norway. Leila flies to spend the summer with her and has so many feelings and unansweredvquestions about why her mum chose to leave her. Their relationship develops throughout the story and it is all about finding your place in the world, finding your home whether animal or human. Stunning illustrations by Tom de Freston make this a must have book.

A lovely little story, beautifully written and illustrated. I enjoyed “Julia and the Shark” and this story has a similar feel: themes of family and refugees are explored along with science and environmental conservation. Leila travels alone to Norway to visit her mother, who is working tracking an arctic fox as it journeys across the ice to Greenland- making some parallels with Leila’s own history, fleeing war in Damascus and journeying to London. Relationships are somewhat strained between Leila and her mother, but can following Miso, the arctic fox, bring them closer together?

Leila is happy living with her aunt and her cousin in London, and is nervous when she has a chance to spend the holidays with her mum, a climatologist working in the far north of Norway. She is disappointed when Mum does not even collect her at the airport, but she begins to make friends with the daughter of her mum's colleague, who has her own difficult family relationships. The scientists are tracking an Arctic fox, and the girls are invited to join them as they follow her across the Arctic Circle.
This is a lovely story that focuses in turn on Leila, and the fox herself, as Leila struggles to re-establish the relationships with her mum and the fox struggles to survive as the climate changes and the ice melts. It takes a wildlife dilemma and subsequent crisis for mother and daughter to recognise how each other have been feeling since they left their war torn home....
Beautifully written and illustrated with characters who behave and react to each other very credibly, this is an uplifting story, that celebrates families, friendship and loyalty, whatever form they take.

What a beautiful, beautiful book. The writing is lyrical and tender and the illustrations are made of magic.

Leila and the Blue Fox touches on some frankly enormous issues like trauma, displacement, and environmentalism with the lightest touch, managing to still be a compelling and absorbing middle grade read. The way the fox’s story is told, the descriptions of the arctic - you can FEEL the snow and the sea - the life on the boat and the peril that Leila and her companions encounter - they all make for a brilliant, engaging page-turner. This is children’s literature at its finest : sensitive, funny, profound. I loved it and it made me cry more than once.

This book is absolutely wonderful. Although read on a first generation kindle, so I didn’t get the added advantage of what must be beautiful illustrations, the story is heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time.
Refugees and the environment intertwined in a story of Leila reuniting with her Mother after six year’s absence from her life. The pair have escaped from Damascus while bombs were raining down, arriving in the UK and were detained in a detention centre which had a profound effect on Leila. Leila had wiped the trauma from her memory, but her Mother did not feel at home and took a job in Norway where she was welcomed and her scientific work appreciated.
Joining her Mum in Tromso, Leila then finds herself on board an expedition to track Miso, an artic fox who has travelled over 1,000 miles in search of food and a welcome habitat.
The fox travels a further 1,000 miles across the ice and is frightened off by the humans on her trail.
Both fox and humans need to find a home in which they feel welcome and know when they do.
The writing is lyrical. The hurt and anger of Leila can be felt until she comes to see the magnetism of the fox and why her Mum has to do what she is doing.