Molly, Olive, and Dexter: You Can’t Catch Me!
by Catherine Rayner; illus. by the author
Preschool    Candlewick    32 pp.
1/25    9781536235586    $17.99

The three animal friends who live in an oak tree “at the edge of the meadow” are back for more lighthearted frolicking (Molly, Olive, and Dexter: The Guessing Game, rev. 7/24). Dexter the fox, who “loves chasing games,” tags Olive the owl to get one started. Olive quickly tags Molly the hare from the air. Molly happily sets off after Dexter, and the two end up running in different directions around the oak tree. “BUMP!” Now Dexter is “it” (and dizzy), but Molly is “just too quick” and Olive is “just too good at flying.” How will he ever catch his friends? This companion book features the same spirited fun as the first installment. Rayner’s detailed, soft-hued mixed-media illustrations give her characters lots of charm; her light line work and effective compositions playfully convey movement. If Dexter can’t run as swiftly as a hare or fly like an owl, he’ll need to do what foxes are good at: “I can think of clever plans!” He slyly catches his friends off-guard in a crowd-pleasing conclusion. If you focus on what you can do, everyone wins.

From the ">January/February 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.