Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox

By Danielle Daniel

Children’s love for animals and disguise come together in this award-winning introduction to the Anishinaabe tradition of totem animals.

In this introduction to the Anishinaabe tradition of totem animals, young children explain why they identify with different creatures such as a deer, beaver or moose. Delightful illustrations show the children wearing masks representing their chosen animal, while the few lines of text on each page work as a series of simple poems throughout the book.

In a brief author’s note, Danielle Daniel explains the importance of totem animals in Anishinaabe culture and how they can also act as animal guides for young children seeking to understand themselves and others.

Key Text Features
author’s note

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7
With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.4
Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.7
Explain how specific aspects of a text's illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.7
Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Groundwood Books
• Release date: Nov 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781773062853

Danielle Daniel

DANIELLE DANIEL is a writer, an award-winning children's book author and illustrator. Like many Francophones with origins in Quebec, she shares a family link to an Indigenous ancestor, an Algonquin woman who inspired her first adult novel, Daughters of the Deer. Her debut middle grade novel, Forever Birchwood, flows out of her connection to the land where she was born and raised, her environmental concerns and her interest in Indigenous ways of stewardship. Her picture books include Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox (winner of the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award and a Best 100 title at the New York Public Library) and You Hold Me Up, shortlisted for the 2018 Marilyn Baillie award. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and recently moved to Mnidoo Mnis (Manitoulin Island) with her family.

Book preview

Reviews for Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox

[bucketofrhymes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Beautifully written, beautifully illustrated, and the perfect introduction to totem animals.

[drobin24 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a simple and intriguing book. It uses a lot of metaphors and similes, and has a lot of descriptive language. It compares how one could feel about themselves one day to an animal that relates to that. “Sometimes I feel like a moose, awkward yet graceful. I move swiftly and silently, with a gentle strength and wisdom.” There are many comparisons that would not typically be made. I would love to use this book in the classroom. The illustrations are perfect for the passages they accompany. They show diverse images of different kids. Though there is no actual plot of the story, the book is really well-written and organized. It talks about positive and more difficult ways to feel about yourself, and it is very important that children are cognitive of their feelings and emotions. The message of this story is that we don’t always feel the same way about ourselves, but it’s fine to explore different characteristics about ourselves.