Basho was a real poet in Japan's history. And this picture book would be an amazing introduction into any poetry unit on haiku. Not only does it give examples of haikus and what inspired the poet to write them, but there's a bonus added lesson that people like things that are about themselves. The pictures are beautiful and fill each page with color. Be sure to look up the Japanese original of his second poem ("An old pond. A frog jumps in. The sound of water.") you can stop and ask your students if they notice anything wrong with that poem (it has the wrong number of syllables for a haiku). Then you can explain that in the original Japanese (it's a real poem written by the real poet, Basho) it fits perfectly ("Fu-ru-i-ke ya. Ka-wa-zu to-bi-ko-mu. Mi-zu no o-to."). ( )

Basho and the Fox: #10 on The New York Times best-seller list for children’s books (11/5/00) and chosen by Smithsonian Magazine as a notable book for children for 2000. 2001 Honor Title, Storytelling World Award, Category 2: Stories for Pre-Adolescent Listeners (“in recognition of highest quality storytelling resources”). Irma Black Honor Book, 2001, Bank Street College of Education. Children’s Literature Choice List, 2001. Children’s Book Council “Not Just For Children Anymore” List, 2002. Los Angeles’ 100 Best Books, 2000, Library Services, Los Angeles Unified School District, and Special Interest Group of the International Reading Association. Excellent 2003 Choice of Trade Books for Grades K-9, compiled by Marilyn Carpenter Ph.D., Eastern Washington University. Archived Recommendation K-2 by PBS Teacher Resource (www.pbs.org). Also earned great reviews from Daniel Pinkwater on NPR’s “Weekend Edition” (read aloud, 9/2/00), The Horn Book, The Ruminator, Book List, Foreword Magazine and School Library Journal. Used as basis for May ’02 presentation of the Virginia Tanner Creative Dance Program (K-12) of the University of Utah.