The endearing duo from Fox & Chick: The Party (2018) returns here in three brief adventures. In the title story, Fox's relaxing boat ride is disrupted by Chick's constant questions and fears. "Chocolate Cake" finds Chick afraid to open his cake from Fox because he knows eating it all will make him sick. And, in "Sunrise," the pair misses the event because Chick can't get his act together. Combining graphic-novel and easy-reader formats, Ruzzier provides emerging readers with satisfying, well-defined characters; relatable experiences; and solutions that never scapegoat. Chick's insecurities are at the crux of most of the conflicts, but Fox always finds a way to accept his behaviors and engineer fixes that are agreeable to both. The illustrations, rendered through pen, ink, and watercolor, favor pastel shades well suited to the exterior calm projected in these narratives. Humorous illustrative details (snarling pirates imagined by Chick, and Chick kissing the ground after his "stressful" boat ride) add depth to the tales as well. Simple yet sophisticated, this makes an ideal choice for beginning readers.

Ruzzier presents three more brief comics-format adventures about odd-couple friends Fox and Chick (from The Party and Other Stories). Pastel-hued pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations are easy to follow from panel to panel and spread to spread, with tantalizingly off-kilter details and fanciful supporting characters. The protagonists seem to have mellowed somewhat from the previous book, with fewer examples of sniping and more of sharing.

Fox and Chick return in this follow-up to The Party: And Other Stories (2018).Echoing the poignant if occasionally antagonistic friendships of such odd couples as Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad and Tad Hills' Duck and Goose, Ruzzier has again accomplished the task of telling three funny, meaningful stories using markedly simple vocabulary that occurs almost entirely as dialogue between the two characters in speech bubbles. The temperamental differences between even-tempered, organized Fox and anxiety-prone, excitable Chick play out in both word and image. Appealing, whimsical pen-and-ink illustrations are softly washed with color and are featured throughout in panel layouts of various sizes, some stretching to fill the page, in the style of a scaled-down graphic novel. When, in the final tale, Chick spoils Fox's plans to catch the sunrise by holding up their departure in puzzling out what supplies will be needed ("Should I take my hammer?" asks Chick), Fox's expression is a marvel of bewilderment, and readers may fear Chick has pushed it too far. In the end, though, the pair enjoy whiling the day away together and catch the sunset instead, bringing the gentle message of learning to live with, and even appreciate, one another's quirks full circle. A fine addition to the series, this can be enjoyed without having read the earlier installment and will be appreciated by new readers. (Early reader. 4-7)