Walker Books Ltd Molly, Olive and Dexter You Cant Catch Me! (Molly, Olive Dexter).

Molly, Olive, and Dexter

by Catherine Rayner

Dexter the fox is frustrated when his owl and hare friends keep winning their chasing game—until he remembers that he has a special talent, too.

Dexter the fox loves to play chase with Molly the hare and Olive the owl. But while Molly keeps bounding away on her great big feet and Olive swoops ahead with just a flap of her wings, Dexter simply can’t keep up, try as he might. What are foxes good at? In the third book of this gently humorous, gorgeously illustrated series exploring young children’s big emotions, award-winning author-illustrator Catherine Rayner brings clever Dexter to the fore as she shows that we all have something important to bring to the game.

Genres: Picture Books, Friendship, Animals, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

Published April 4, 2024

About the author

See also Catherine Rayner for works on the Bronte sisters

Award winning author and illustrator Catherine Rayner studied Illustration at Edinburgh College of art. She fell in love with the city and still lives there with her husband, young son and a handful of creatures: Shannon the horse, Ena the grey cat and a goldfish called Richard.

She finds huge inspiration in her pets and often uses them as models, frequently asking Ena to pose so that she can study her posture and movement. Then she translates sketches of Ena into characters such as dragons and hares, not to mention moose and bears! But it was creatures of a wilder kind that inspired her first picture book, Augustus and His Smile - Catherine spent hours and hours watching and sketching tigers (in freezing temperatures) at Edinburgh Zoo.

Winner of the 2009 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal for her second book Harris Finds His Feet, Catherine has now been shortlisted four times for the award. She was also awarded the Best New Illustrator Award at the Booktrust Early Years Awards in 2006 and was named one of Booktrust’s ten Best New Illustrators in 2008. In 2010, she was the inaugural illustrator in residence at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. In 2012 Catherine’s book Iris and Isaac won the UKLA Children’s Book Award and the Dutch edition of Solomon Crocodile has been selected as PICTURE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2014 in The Netherlands by the CPNB.

Reviews

[YSBR]

In her third outing with this trio of friends (Dexter the fox, Molly the rabbit, and Olive the owl), Rayner puts aside realistic predator instincts in favor of a gentle lesson about embracing what we’re best at. Dexter loves chasing his friends and proposes a game of tag, but Molly and Olive are so fast that they quickly outmaneuver the little fox. Slapping on his thinking cap, Dexter stops to ponder what it is that foxes are good at and comes up with a clever plan – he’ll hide in a pile of leaves and jump out when his friends finally sit down to rest. Rayner’s beautiful mixed media illustrations (watercolor and pen-and-ink) feature an organic palette of woodland greens and browns, with Dexter’s fiery orange coat popping off the page. Occasional bright blue accents along Molly’s ear or Dexter’s back convey the sun-dappled nature of their forest home. The animals manage to be winsome and expressive but still move like their actual wild counterparts, with Rayner presenting a few vignettes but mostly opting for full-page bleeds that will make this a group read aloud favorite. The simple language, large type, and widely spaced lines means that this picture book can also do double-duty as an early reader. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Lorie]

Dexter the fox is playing their favorite chasing game with his friends Molly, the hare and Olive, the owl when he realizes that he is never going to be as fast or as swift as they are. What can he do to keep up with them, what is he good at? When he comes up with a plan to use his cleverness to blend in and hide to tag them-will that make a difference!

A sweet story and wonderful mixed media illustrations makes this not only a fun story to read aloud to groups and classes, but one that demonstrates the skills of self-realization and persistence. When Dexter slows down and reflects on what his strengths will be in this game, he has better success in the game. This is the third book in a series about the three friends, and this one is perfect for kids ages 4-8.

I would recommend this book for purchase by elementary school and public libraries.

This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.

[Roben]

Molly the hare, Olive the owl, and Dexter the fox are best friends. They live together in an oak tree at the edge of a meadow.
Dexter loves to play chasing games but both Molly and Olive are too fast to catch. Molly has big strong feet and Olive can fly. Dexter wonders - what are foxes good at? Thinking of clever plans, that's what!

What a lovely book! Littles will be surprised when Dexter pops out. Be sure to go back and look for him in the leaves! I am sure you will see him!

And yes - I know in real life a fox, a rabbit and an owl would definitely NOT be best friends -- but this is an adorable book that might encourage kids to find their own special skills. The illustrations are lovely and whimsical and the story is just plain fun.

[Aimée]

Molly, Olive und Dexter spielen Fangen. Doch die kleine Eule kann super fliegen und der kleine Hase kann fantastisch Haken schlagen. Der arme Dexter ist total im Nachteil. Also verinnerlicht er, was Füchse am besten können... und trickst die beiden aus. Die Illustrationen sind wirklich toll und mal was ganz anderes für ein Kinderbuch. Die Moral ist gut gelungen, insgesamt also sehr schön.

[Rebecca]

Three best friends are enjoying a friendly game of tag. One is a fast runner, one is great at flying, but is the last one good at? HIDING! Each friend has a different strength, but together, they are a strong and fun team.

I love that this book talks about what makes each one unique and special. Great book for youth!

[Miss Janis the Storytime Lady]

good. Naming the 3 animals, guessing what they're playing, talking about what makes them good at tag. A little "feelings" talk about what Dexter may feel because he can't catch his friends. Surprise! ending. A good solid read-aloud

[Sophie - Kinderboekentips]

Fan van deze serie!

[Joey-Susan]

This was absolutely stunning, from the gorgeous illustrations, to the sweetest animal friendship ever. This was just so beautifully stunning start to finish. I really enjoyed this, three unlikely animal friends were all playing tag together but all move at different speeds and Dexter the fox can’t catch his friends.

I really enjoyed how close their friendship was and how they all played so sweetly and lovingly together, they were not what you’d expect to find in friends but I loved that they were and how they would care about each other so much even in the middle of a game. Just an absolutely gorgeous book and story.

A perfect read with your children, it’s such a relaxing book. The illustrations throughout are so beautiful to look at, it has the sweetest friendship and the story is so fun and sweet.

[Emily Haage]

3.5+

just a sweet friendship story. Lovely mixed media illustrations.

[Sarah]

Charming.

[Lizzy]

Cute :) but maybe not super memorable

[Melanie]

contains an excellent message for children: that we all have our own special gifts in life

[Liz]

Beautiful endpages and illustrations especially the BUMP! page. A game of tag where all three participants consider themselves winners. Sweet story.

[Olivia]

Love the illustrations. I like the message but the storytelling wasn’t captivating.

[Lillian]

lovely illustrations - the story was meh

[Megan]

Beautiful art

[Becs]

It's hard to fault Molly, Olive and Dexter (I can't!) because it is the perfect combination of beautifully illustrated (truly - absolutely stunning watercolour style illustrations), full of friendship, fun and togetherness and the message is so lovely. I just love all of Molly, Olive and Dexter's adventures together.

This time it's a fun game of Tag/Catch Me If You Can and an exploration of some of the different strengths and weaknesses that Molly, Olive and Dexter have. Instead of feeling downhearted about those differences though, these things are celebrated and the balance of different skills is championed for each friend.

I think Catherine Rayner has written the kind of book I would want to both read and have written myself. I love it.

ARC provided from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

[Stace]

I love the Molly, Olive and Dexter books and this latest edition - Molly, Olive and Dexter: You Can't Catch Me!, is no different.

The stories contains wholesome and loveable characters who try to be caring and helpful as they can be.

The artwork is soft and gentle and a little ruggied but works perfectly with the story.

The text has not hard to understand or read words which is helpful for new or practicing readers and the plot is simply beautiful.

Overall, this is a very sweet and adorable book that reminds me of the books I read as a child in the 1980's.