Fox and Bear

In this charming picture book, Saskatchewan author/illustrator Miriam Körner creates a parable about the modern obsession with progress. As the book begins, Fox and Bear live a simple life, going into the forest every day to gather what there is to gather and catch what there is to catch. Bear has time for an afternoon nap, and Fox has time to look for treasures. They are busy every day picking berries and mushrooms, hunting ants and mice, and catching rabbits and birds.

One day, Fox comes up with an idea to make life easier so they don’t need to spend their time hunting and gathering. First of all, they catch more and more birds and keep them in home-made cages, and they plant seedlings to grow their own food. However, they spend all their time feeding the birds, collecting eggs, and watering the seedlings. The two friends have less, not more, time to relax. Of course, Fox has another idea: they cut down trees, dig holes, and construct a mechanical egg collector, bird feeder, water sprinkler, and berry picker. However, Fox and Bear now have to spend their days cutting down more trees to burn in the steam engines, finding seeds to fill the bird feeder, and repairing mechanical breakdowns. The two friends are increasingly exhausted, and so, of course, Fox comes up with a solution: building even bigger engines and even faster machines!

And so it goes. In their attempt to have more time for leisure, Fox and Bear have less and less. Their days are filled maintaining the machinery that is supposed to make their lives easier, and the forest that they used to enjoy is being destroyed in the name of progress. Finally, Bear asserts himself, suggesting they return to their former life of simple hunting and gathering. Bear rejects progress while Fox is still unsure. Maybe if he builds just one more, bigger and better machine, his life may finally be easier.

The sepia-toned illustrations, constructed of recycled cardboard cut-outs, are a perfect complement to the story. They vividly depict the impact on the forest as the rich natural environment is destroyed in the creation of smoke-belching machines. Fox and Bear are appealing protagonists: Fox has good intentions but ultimately is pursuing the wrong values with negative consequences for the environment and for himself. His mild-mannered companion, Bear, finally recognizes this and opts to return to his simple life before it is too late. Körner has created a vivid and clever parable about unsustainable progress and its negative consequences, one that young children will enjoy and relate to.