What This Book Is About
Fen and Rey are sisters, but they couldn't be more different. Fen is wild and fierce, happiest scrambling through the woods and mud. Rey is quiet and careful, most at home with her telescope and the night sky. When their dad tells them they're spending the summer at a remote countryside cottage, the girls are forced into each other's world—and into the orbit of a fox who appears at the edge of the garden each evening, glowing in the last light.
From Katya Balen, the Carnegie Medal-winning author of October October, Foxlight is a mesmerising story about sisterhood, identity, and our connection to the natural world. The prose is lyrical and sensory—you can feel the damp earth under Fen's boots and see the constellations through Rey's eyes. Winner of the 2024 Wainwright Children's Prize, this book asks a question every child eventually faces: what happens when the person closest to you sees the world completely differently?
Available at Popular bookstores, Kinokuniya, and the Singapore National Library.
Why UWC Chose This Book
Foxlight speaks directly to UWC's commitment to environmental stewardship and personal growth. Fen and Rey's contrasting ways of experiencing nature—one through physical immersion, the other through scientific observation—show students that there is no single "right" way to connect with the world around them. For children growing up in urban Singapore, where green spaces are carefully curated, this book opens a window to wilder, messier landscapes and the creatures that inhabit them.
The sibling dynamic is equally valuable in the classroom. UWC students come from diverse backgrounds with different communication styles and perspectives, and Foxlight teaches that difference within a family—or a community—is not something to resolve but something to understand. The lyrical prose also stretches readers' literary vocabulary beyond everyday English, building the kind of descriptive and emotional language that strengthens both creative and analytical writing.
Reading Level Guide
The lyrical prose may be too challenging at A1. Try shorter nature stories like The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark first.
The sweet spot. The sensory language stretches A2 readers while the emotional depth rewards B1 readers.
A beautiful, quick read at B2. Consider Pax by Sara Pennypacker for a deeper animal-human bond story.
Other UWC Recommended Books for This Grade
Not sure if this book is right for your child? Take our free English assessment to find their CEFR level, then choose books that match.