A Fox Called Sorrow / The Legend of Little Fur

Little Fur #2

by Isobelle Carmody

The fate of the elf troll, Little Fur, becomes entangled with the mysterious fox, Sorrow, who longs only for death. Together they must travel to Underth, the troll king's underground city, on a dangerous quest to uncover his evil plans. The wise Sett Owl has foreseen that the future of the earth spirit, and perhaps all living things, depends on the success of this quest. Led by a greedy, devious rat, how can they succeed? But how can they fail, when so much is at stake?

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Adventure, Magic

301 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Isobelle Carmody began the first novel of her highly acclaimed Obernewtyn Chronicles while she was still in high school. The series has established her at the forefront of fantasy writing in Australia.

In addition to her young-adult novels, such as the Obernewtyn Chronicles and Alyzon Whitestarr, Isobelle's published works include several middle-grade fantasies. Her still-unfinished Gateway Trilogy has been favorably compared to The Wizard of Oz and the Chronicles of Narnia. The Little Fur quartet is an eco-fantasy starring a half-elf, half-troll heroine and is fully illustrated by the author herself.

Isobelle's most recent picture book, Magic Night, is a collaboration with illustrator Declan Lee. Originally published in Australia as The Wrong Thing, the book features an ordinary housecat who stumbles upon something otherworldly. Across all her writing, Isobelle shows a talent for balancing the mundane and the fantastic.

Isobelle was the guest of honor at the 2007 Australian National Science Fiction Convention. She has received numerous honors for her writing, including multiple Aurealis Awards and Children's Book Council of Australia Awards.

She currently divides her time between her home on the Great Ocean Road in Australia and her travels abroad with her partner and daughter.

Librarian's note: Penguin Australia is publishing the Obernewtyn Chronicles in six books, and The Stone Key is book five. In the United States and Canada this series is published by Random House in eight books; this Penguin Australia book is split into two parts and published as Wavesong (Book Five) and The Stone Key (Book Six).

Reviews

[Too Much To Swallow (I am fox!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Very often magic is just another word to describe the unknown.”

This book made my heart happy.

The wonderful, beautiful simplicity of the writing, the clever phrases and knowing analogies. Even the way the quiet sorrowfulness weaved in the texts is conveyed...
this book may be deemed to “childish” to read perhaps by some, but no.
Please. Give it a try.
The use of anthropomorphism is superb. The characterisation is not able to be described. This book is the essence of quiet beauty.

Books like this are rare.








10/10



Would definitely recommend.

[Farhana Faruq · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. It's been on my shelf for years, what a shame I only picked it up now. This is book two in a four book series. It's about a fox named Sorrow who wants to die. He's sent on a mission to accomplish this with the help of others including Little Fur, a half-elf, half troll. Sounds weird, awesome story on so many levels.

The illustrations are super cute, and my copy has a velvet cover (that should make it a 6 star rating)!!

[Ruth Garlick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The sweet story continues in A Fox Called Sorrow, the second book in the Legend of Little Fur series by Isobelle Carmody.
A wild storm rages as the troll king plots to destroy the earth magic, and kill every living thing.
Little Fur travels back to visit the Sett Owl, where she meets a fox who seeks death, but his spirit won’t allow him to die.
The Sett Owl asks Sorrow, the fox, to go and spy the troll king’s plan, and Little Fur goes with him as a healer.
Through a treacherous journey, betrayal, and discovery, this book shines with the power of hope and life.

[Louisa Tomasiewicz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this on my bookshelf and realized I hadn't read it after owning it for nearly 10 years. I decided to give it a read and it is possibly the cutest book I have read in a while.
I highly suggest it if you want a light read, some fantasy, and kindhearted characters!
It is part of a 4 book series and I can't wait to read the rest. You don't have to read them in order so go find one of interest and read away!

[Pip Snort · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Fur has to venture deep into Unerth to spy on the Troll King and learn his nefarious plans. She is accompanied by Ginger the Cat, Sorrow the Fox, Gazrak the Rat, and the ferrets, Kell and Shikra. They rescue the monkey Incic who reveals the Troll King's plans. This is a captivating story with sweet characters which unfolds gently. Perfect for young ones.

[Jeannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 2 is much more of an adventure for Little Fur and expands a lot on the world. There are some beautiful descriptions and passages and, most of all, I loved Sorrow, and I hope to see more of him in the next 2 books.

These books would be great for 6/7yr olds and are filled with good teachings about respecting the Earth and the lives of animals, even morally grey animals like Sly.

[Colin Gilmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Legend of Little Fur continues with this achingly beautiful advanced children's story that consistently challenges the reader to leave behind their expectations and teaches timeless lessons about friendship, loyalty and service to others.

[By Book and Bone (Sally) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so sweet and cute. Definitely one to read to the smalls, though the depressed fox might be something to explain...
The story isn't a particularly strong one but it's more about the theme and characters anyway.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other than the disparaging way humans are portrayed in this book(we get it, humans ruin everything and are cruel and evil) and the way the author tries to force the reader to feel sorry for the fox, which both detracted from my enjoyment, this was a moving and adventurous story.

[Aisha (never learnt how to read) · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a sweet and wholesome book :,) it’s definitely the kind of thing you read to children as a bedtime story, to be appreciated in sleepiness and the denial of it.

i think i’ll be hunting for the rest of them now hehe

[Puffdepuff · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books ever!

[Emaan]

I only picked it up bc I like the fuzzy cover

[Madeline Khu · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Row Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful read ☺️

[Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Throughout "A Fox Called Sorrow", this talented Australian writer, Isobelle Carmody, vividly reflects how alienating the human world is to other creatures, and how pervasive and confusing. Cars are terrifying "road beasts" and trains are "road serpents", and Little Fur, the elf troll, cannot set foot on the wide, black roads, lest she break her contact with the earth, which suffocates beneath these poisonous black veins, and with the "earth magic" that assists her abilities as a healer of injured animals and trees. Most heartbreaking is the fox's, Sorrow's, tragic history at the hands of humans.

This beautiful story has so much to offer that is immensely valuable and original, in its poignancy, in its portrayal of integrity and compassion and bravery within and through tragedy and cruelty and grief, and its very important underlying messages of environmentalism, respect for the earth and for all creatures, and the strength of love and hope, even through the darkest despair and loss. And the ending is wonderful!

I selected this beautiful book quite randomly - partly because of the cover's gorgeous velvet nape on my edition - and I'm so impressed.

[Ace Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Fox Called Sorrow is the sequel to The Legend of Little Fur. Like the first book, it was faced paced but a lot of fun to read. Little Fur, has come a long way from the Elf-Troll who hated anything to do with humans. She still has distaste for a lot of them but she is curious about them and knows there are some good. She's a very curious creature and you see that with her interactions with Sorrow. Sorrow, intrigues you and makes you feel like you can understand his pain and hatred of all humans.

Over the quest though you can see just how much he wants to die. The Ferrets are incredibly loyal and Sly, Ginger and the Crow were great to see again even if some of them weren't in it long but they still played major roles.

Like all of Isobelle Carmody's novels it was fun, enjoyable and incredibly well written. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the books.

[Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Lemurkat · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[bin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know it's a book for younger kids, but even so it just swept me away. It makes you see things from another point of view. The other day it struck me how odd roads really were, and the noisy roadbeasts noisily roaring past on them.

[LaDawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet little story. I picked this one up in the clearance bin after Christmas.
I didn't like that the only humans portrayed were those that were cruel to animals, even though she did say that not all humans were evil.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than the first book. There was more action and I felt that there was more depth in the characters. This is a great children's book, with a really good message. I think I will be continuing with this series!

[Libby]

i love this book the fox's story is sad but its a great book

[Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very simplistically written, but strong in its story line.

[Gabriella Reeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of far greater depth and darkness than most books for young readers. It really got the kids thinking, and the love Little Fur and her friends.

[Melissa Monroe]

It wasn't a terrible book, I thought it was a good book for the younger generations. It would have made so much more sense if i read the first book of the series first.

[Riverina Regional Library]

Members of Riverina Regional Library reserve your copy now

[Heather]

awesome!

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lost my long review of this by switching editions half way through the review. Will I never learn? Aaagh!

Suffice to say, I love the book. Design, writing and illustrations, all.

[Kerri Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful follow on from Little Fur. All children should enjoy the magic and warmth of the Legend of Little Fur.