Acclaimed poet George Murray and award-winning painter Michael Pittman team up for their first-ever childrens’ picture book. Wow Wow the fox pup has learned a lot about the hows and whys of being a fox. He knows how to hunt and hide, and he’s very proud of his red and white and black fur. But he doesn’t know much about fleas, until the day he wakes up feeling very, very itchy. Haw Haw the crow offers her friendship and guidance in this charming adaptation of the Celtic legend, How The Fox Lost His Fleas. Murray’s playful rhyme and repetition, set against a backdrop of Pittman’s lush paintings, will make Wow Wow and Haw Haw an instant classic and a favourite among small children and early readers alike.

George Murray's three previous books of poetry include The Hunter (McClelland & Stewart, 2003) and The Cottage Builder's Letter (M&S, 2001). His poems, fiction and criticism have appeared in many publications in Canada, the US, the UK, Australia and Europe. Murray won the 2003 New York Festivals Radio and Television Gold Medal for Best Writing for his broadcast poem "Anniversary: A Personal Inventory" and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He is the editor and publisher of the popular literary website Bookninja.com and a contributing editor for several literary magazines, including Canadian Notes and Queries and The Drunken Boat. He lives in St. John's, Newfoundland.

George Murray's profile page

Michael Pittman is an internationally exhibited visual artist from Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador. He now lives in a forest in the middle of an island with his best friend, Krista, and their clever son, Jack.

Michael Pittman's profile page

• Short-listed, Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award for Excellence in Illustration

Wow! Wow! indeed… this charming narrative unfolds in masterful storytelling tradition. George Murray's exploration and use of language, along with his attention to cadence, make this a pitch-perfect tale as he refreshes our idea of "fable". Pittman's stunning art underscores and amplifies the telling. Here is an exciting new world for readers of picture books. Read it. Now! Now!

- Sheree Fitch, award-winning author of If You Could Wear My Sneakers, Mabel Murple, and There Were Monkeys in My Kitchen