The two kits become friends and decide to go after Mia's mother. After attempting to escape, Mia is strung on a rope and is soon found by Uly, who had felt the smell of food from nearby.

Mia is brought by the hunter, Beatrix Potter, to her house, where she remains caged for several days. Meanwhile, lost in the forest, Mia's mother steps on a steel trap and is almost captured, but Mia saves her and is captured instead. She refuses and Uly runs away and disappears into the forest. One day, Uly's father, Wynn, returns to the den and tries to force Uly's mother to kill him.

The elder then tells Uly's story, a fox born with a malformed front leg and ostracized by his six sisters, who mock him whenever possible. In the aftermath, only Mia and her mother are not infected, and so they flee from their den. During their class, their teacher, Miss Vix, suffering from rabies, becomes aggressive and attacks the fox kits. The first one is focused on Mia, who is being taught survival skills alongside the rest of the litter. Despite the warnings, they go there to listen to the old vixen's tales. Their mother tells them about an old storyteller but prohibits them from adventuring there.

The book follows seven fox kits in search of scary stories. A sequel, called Scary Stories for Young Foxes: The City, was released on August 31, 2021. The book was the recipient of a Newbery Honor in 2020 and was featured in 'best of' lists by the ALA and The Booklist. Scary Stories for Young Foxes was well received by critics, with Heidicker praised for his skill in creating interesting characters and dark stories, while Wu's drawings were highlighted by reviewers for their style and importance in helping create a scary atmosphere. The stories are focused on Mia and Uly, two foxes from different dens, separated from their families and having to fend themselves against the dangers that lie in the forest, such as predators, humans and other foxes. The novel consists of several connected stories told by an old vixen as cautionary tales to a new generation of kits. The book, published by Henry Holt and Company, was first envisioned to be similar to some of the Berenstain Bears' scary stories, but was rewritten into a collection of tales based on classic horror stories. Scary Stories for Young Foxes is a 2019 children's book written by Christian McKay Heidicker, with illustrations by Junyi Wu.

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