Local children’s author and illustrator speaks with Novi elementary students

NOVI — Local children’s author and illustrator Caroline Kerfoot, of West Bloomfield, spoke to students at Orchard Hills Elementary School in Novi March 25 about her book, “Hi, I’m Fox!”

“I was humbled when schools in the area asked me to visit, share my story with the students, and sometimes create art together,” Kerfoot said. “Both students and staff from each school have been so kind, welcoming and eager to learn.”

During the two presentations at Orchard Hills Elementary, Kerfoot read her books to a combined total of just over 400 students. During the month of March, Kerfoot talked to students at several other local schools, including the Novi Virtual School, H. T. Smith Elementary School in Fowlerville, Mason Elementary in Grosse Pointe Woods, Holbrook Elementary in Hamtramck, and Huda School & Montessori in Franklin.

“We learned so much about writing and illustrating a story! We returned to our classrooms inspired to write and publish our own stories,” Novi kindergarten teacher Laura Mardigian said in an email. “Caroline was delightful and an encouragement to our young writers.”

Mardigian said that Kerfoot, who is self-published, made her students feel that they could write their own books. She described Kerfoots’s illustrations as “charming.”

“I started drawing before I could talk,” said Kerfoot. “So, I just always knew I was going to do something creative, and I started writing poems and songs when I was 11. I’ve been writing songs for a very long time, which is why it was so natural to write a story where everything rhymes.”

Kerfoot grew up in Grosse Pointe Farms, graduated from Grosse Pointe South High School in 2001 and went to school for design at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. During her schooling, she studied abroad in London at Central Saint Martins for a semester. She has worked and lived in New York, Austria, Germany and Portugal. She pursued her master’s degree in management while in Portugal, before returning to New York for a job. She came back to Michigan to be closer to her then-boyfriend, who is now her husband.

During the pandemic, Kerfoot, who lives in an area of West Bloomfield with a lot of green space, would go for walks with her dog, Foxy, and would see different animals. She recalled how Foxy came across a turtle during one of those walks, and the turtle kept retreating into its shell when Foxy would try to smell it.

“It just sparked the idea for this story, and I just couldn’t get it out of my mind, and one night after work I came home and the whole thing just spilled out of me,” she said.

The book tells the story of a dog named Fox who is trying to make friends and find her way home. However, because her name is “Fox,” the other animals are scared of her.

“The whole story is about friendship and trust, and a lot of the things that have happened over the last few years; you just feel so bad for children who have missed out on those social interactions and that time to gain those skills. So I thought it could be helpful to have a story about friendships and making friends and meeting someone who might make you nervous at first, but you can sort of move past that and be friends with them and find commonalities.”

Although Kerfoot does not have children herself, she said she often volunteered at a homeless shelter in New York and would bring arts education to children in the shelters. She said she would draw and color with them and try to get them to use their imaginations. She said she just loves to spark creativity in children.

“I have always loved children, and I have always loved stories, especially rhyming stories, because they are really fun for the kids,” Kerfoot said. “Some of my favorite times are when they would just start creating their own story.”

Her book is part of a series, “Adventures of Fox,” but the books will not need to be read in order. The second book, “Safety First!,” will be released June 1 and is focused on water safety. In the book, Fox gets herself into a pickle when she follows her friend into the water and gets swept up in the current, requiring her friends to help bring her back to shore, Kerfoot said.

Kerfoot strives to manufacture her books locally. She said she works with My Book Printer, a Michigan printing company. The paperbacks are made in Michigan, and the hardcovers are bound in Indiana.

“Hi, I’m Fox!” has been adapted to video form on Youtube by her husband, videographer John Kerfoot. Caroline Kerfoot will have a table at the Farmington Author and Book Festival June 3 as well as the Detroit Book Fest July 16. When she is not writing, Kerfoot works for a high-end furniture and decor company, Regina Andrew.

For more information and to purchase a book, visit adventuresoffox.com or find the real adventures of Fox on Instagram, Facebook and Goodreads.