Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that the lessons are a little twisty here, and guns are used, resulting in Mr. Fox losing his tail.
Families can talk about what the morals of this story are supposed to be. Why is it good for Mr. Fox to kill chickens, but bad for the farmers to want to kill him? Why is it good for Mr. Fox to steal their chickens, and bad for them to want to stop him? Do you agree with all this?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
Roald Dahl has more than his share of classics of 20th-century children's literature. In between his greater works, he tossed off many lesser books, and this is one of those. It's humorous and satisfying, in a very straightforward sort of way -- none of Dahl's characteristic wicked cleverness is here. It's engrossing and one of his easier-to-read stories, so it's good for younger and reluctant readers, or when you're looking for a quick, fun read-aloud.
But author Dahl -- to the joy of his child readers and often the horror of their parents -- had a delightfully subversive streak, and loved to turn rules and societal norms on their heads. While this is a very slight story -- clever fox outwits mean farmers -- it provides lots to talk about. Why shouldn't the farmers try to kill the fox who is killing their animals? Why is the fox portrayed as a hero for stealing successfully? In a later book, Danny, Champion of the World, Dahl does the same thing with human poachers. In both cases, those being stolen from are portrayed as rich. Is this some British class-consciousness? Does he just like the underdog? Or does he revel in junior-league subversiveness and messing with parents? Kids won't care -- they'll just love the story, and root for their stand-in, Mr. Fox, to defeat all those mean adults who don't want him to have what he wants.
From The Book
Every evening, as soon as it got dark, Mr. Fox would say to Mrs. Fox, "Well, my darling, what shall it be this time? A plump chicken from Boggis? A duck or a goose from Bunce? Or a nice turkey from Bean?" And when Mrs. Fox had told him what she wanted, Mr. Fox would creep down into the valley in the darkness of the night and help himself.
Boggis and Bunce and Bean knew very well what was going on, and it made them wild with rage. They were not men who liked to give anything away. Less still did they like anything to be stolen from them. So every night each of them would take his shotgun and hide in a dark place somewhere on his own farm, hoping to catch the robber.
Plot Summary:
Mr. Fox is in the habit of stealing food for himself and his family from three nearby farmers: chickens from Boggis, ducks and geese from Bunce, and turkeys from Bean. But "all three of them were about as nasty and mean as any men you could meet." Resenting Mr. Fox's thefts, they join forces to kill him.
First they lie in wait outside his den and manage to wound him. Then they begin digging to catch him and his family, first with shovels, and then with machines. Finally they decide to starve him out. But that's when Mr. Fox gets a brilliant idea.
Related Books:
Other Books by Roald Dahl:
Boy
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
Danny, the Champion of the World
Esio Trot
George's Marvelous Medicine
James and the Giant Peach
The BFG
The Magic Finger
Matilda
The Minpins
The Twits
The Witches
Skin and Other Stories
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ViolenceChickens are killed, Mr. Fox gets his tail shot off. |
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Social BehaviorThe lessons in this tale are a little convoluted. Mr. Fox is a hero for stealing and killing chickens; the farmers are villains for wanting to stop him and kill him. |
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Commercialism |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoDrinking of hard cider. |
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