Fox + Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier

Image of Ellysa Stern Cahoy.
Courtesy of Ellysa Stern Cahoy.

Ellysa Stern Cahoy was a member of the 2019 Geisel Award Committee. She is an Education Librarian and the Assistant Director of the Pennsylvania Center for the Book in the Penn State University Libraries, University Park, PA. At the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Ellysa serves on the jury for the Baker’s Dozen: Thirteen Best Books for Family Literacy, and administers the Lynd Ward Graphic Novel Prize. 

Fox + Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride
and Other Stories by Sergio
Ruzzier book cover

Sergio Ruzzier is back with a second Fox + Chick book, The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories! As in the first entry in this series (The Party), Fox and Chick are friends with very different personalities. Fox is contemplative and thoughtful. Chick is disruptive and devilish! Ruzzier shares three tales of the two friends -- The Quiet Boat Ride, Chocolate Cake, and The Sunrise. The Quiet Boat Ride is anything but -- Chick sees danger -- pirates, shipwreck, and sea monsters around each corner. Fox patiently abides the vagaries of Chick, his voyaging companion. In the second story, a gifted chocolate cake presents a quandary -- how will Chick eat the entire thing by himself? Luckily, Fox is there to help out. And in the final story, The Sunrise, Chick’s disarray and disorganization mean a missed sunrise viewing, but the two friends find something even better (and just as beautiful) to enjoy together.

The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories follows the same format as The Party, with colorful endpapers that hint at elements in the story and a layout (including a table of contents and chapter headers) that is easily accessible to new readers navigating their first chapter books. The format is a hybrid of a graphic novel and an early reader, with the action shown in comic panels that are easy to follow. 

Ruzzier’s pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations perfectly depict the humorous depths of each story. When Chick imagines sea monsters, they materialize on the following wordless page as fantastic creatures -- a winding eel with a horn for a nose, a lemon shaped fish, a menacing creature with a foot for a tail. Chick’s house is a small tower (with accompanying miniature outhouse), perilously perched on a singular tree branch. Fox and Chick wander through muted landscapes of lilac, chartreuse, and Tuscan orange that feature rolling hills, fanciful trees, and the occasional cacti. 

Panels of Fox and Chick going on a not so quiet boat ride from 
Fox + Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier

The text is structured entirely as dialogue between Fox and Chick to help the reader tell the story dramatically -- Chick yells in all caps, and Fox speaks gently and directly to his friend. The layout is consistent and the font is large and almost always enclosed within speech bubbles (an exception is when Chick ‘smooch’es the ground when he reaches land and Fox’s alarm clock ‘riiiiiing’s in the morning). Even these onomatopoeic sounds provide an opportunity for the reader to apply sound effects to the story! 

Panels of Fox and Chick going on a not so quiet boat ride from
Fox + Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier

The pages are numbered, and at 46 pages, meet the minimum number of pages required for Geisel consideration. The dialogue contains a mix of simple and unusual words, such as plunder, shipwreck, worried, salami, and hammer. Many of the more challenging words are repeated multiple times in the text. The funny stories, imaginative illustrations, and unique friendship of Fox and Chick combine to make a very enjoyable experience for the reader. 

Sergio Ruzzier received a Geisel Honor in 2019 for The Party and Other Stories. Full disclosure: I served on the 2019 Geisel Committee, and I love the originality and accessibility of Ruzzier’s art and stories! Perhaps these winning friends will march forward for Geisel recognition once again this year!  

What are your thoughts? Will Fox + Chick once again gain Geisel attention?