Juniper: The Happiest Fox by Jessika Coker
My rating: 5/5 cats
so, obviously this is my new favorite book. maybe you already know all about juniper from the internet, but if you don’t, please acquaint yourself with her asap.
https://www.instagram.com/juniperfoxx…
&etc.
from her runt-of-the-litter baby pictures – ACK! that NOSE! those TINY CLAWS!
to her all-grown-up foxy redhead – ACK! that underbite and TOOFUM!
she doesn’t take a bad picture.
however, i do, on both sides of the camera. all the pictures appearing in this review were taken with my camera, little blue, from the book, so they are for illustration purposes only, and much better photographs can be found on juniper’s site(s) and in the book. or on my juniper wall calendar, but it’s already april, so too bad for you, but i’ll show you what you’re missing this month:
i learned a lot of facts from this book, facts that led me to conclude that either 1) keeping a fox as a pet is an endeavor with many unexpected factors to consider and a decision that should not be made without understanding what’s going to happen to your home, your possessions and your routine, OR 2) that juniper is a very. naughty. fox.
i’m leaning toward the former, because wookit that face!
she could never be naughty, could she?
and yet, so much of this book sounds like the script from a horror movie:
Whenever we had guests, Juniper made a game out of hiding inside of the couch and jumping out from in between the cushions. She enjoyed their startled screams and would jump out repeatedly.
but, like, a really cute horror movie.
When I would reach down to pet her, she would yip happily and wag her tail as fast as she could before excitedly bolting out of the room. It was as if she couldn’t handle the joy radiating through her body and the only appropriate reaction was to run around screaming.
keeping a fox sounds a lot like keeping an adorably unhinged possible serial killer as a pet
much hoarding of food, including stuffing a fish filet underneath the rug:
Juniper had carefully removed the carpet from the tacks that held it to the floor, hidden her entire dinner underneath, and then placed the carpet back so perfectly that I didn’t notice the difference until I started to smell the putrid fish three days later.
which would have been a hard smell to notice beneath all that musky fox smell as juniper marked the entire place as “hers.” also hers = that couch she liked to jump out of, which she had clawed large holes into, hollowing out a den which she lined comfortably with stolen, shredded socks, toys and more food. always more food. hoarder fox.
there is also an anecdote about her delightedly peeing on a dying wasp.
however, this page is the most troubling of all:
let’s hope juniper had the sense to pee on that.
if alla that doesn’t convince you that you should maybe sleep with one eye open if you ever get a pet fox, there’s this:
Her toy box is her favorite place to hoard treats. I once found a dog biscuit hidden inside a decapitated toy rabbit. It was sticking out almost as if she had purposefully replaced the rabbit’s head with a treat.
crazy like a fox, folks…
this is the toy box of cray:
and also a good place to note her TAIL! in case you are not registering this, i will crop it until you appreciate that her tail is the size of a whole ‘nother animal:
juniper is the good kind of crazy, and not just because she’s irresistible. it is a fact that the greatest artists of their generations often come across a little different; they march to the beat of their own drum and all that, and it’s what quckens their creativity – which is absolutely true of juniper. i mean, look at these endpapers!!
they were made with her FEETS!
you can even buy juniper originals, when they’re not all sold out.
there’s a lot more text in here that is typical for books like these, and i really appreciated learning all about juniper and her pals, especially moose:
the malamud she loves and stalks who merely tolerates her in return, proving that even the most breathtakingly beautiful creatures still struggle with unrequited affections.
looks close enough to love for me!
oh, and fig, who is another sweet fox baby for juniper to adore. but i’ll let you discover that tale on your own. it is so awwwwww.
as a bonus if you love animals and good causes:
Partial proceeds from this book are being used to expand Juniper’s home into an animal sanctuary for other animals in need
and since i bought TWO copies of this book; one for me and one for greg, i am pretty sure that makes me some kind of super-donor with visiting/petting/snuggling privileges and i would like to schedule my sleepover playdate soon, please! i am an animal in need…of smelly fox hugs!
Hester
July 5, 2018 at 4:02 pm
Hey, she ain’t painting with her feets, those are her hands. Her feets is her feets!
karen t. brissette
July 5, 2018 at 4:10 pm
i have never seen her in action – she doesn’t use all four … limbs? you’re right, though, i guess i just call all the things that are walked upon “feets,” except for on cats, which are clearly handies. but for canine/vulpine etc beasties, i guess i just call them all feets. i am a linguist’s nightmare!
Hester
July 6, 2018 at 3:15 pm
I guess it’s just me, I always think of the front paws on animals as “hands”. I’m a nutter like that.
karen t. brissette
July 6, 2018 at 3:33 pm
i think it’s a tricky gray area. much opportunity for heated debates. and placards. always placards.