Fantastic Mr. Fox (Young Puffin Books) - Softcover

Dahl, Roald

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140326715 ISBN 13: 9780140326710

Publisher: Puffin Books, 1988

Synopsis

Boggis, Bunce and Bean are just about the nastiest and meanest farmers you could meet. And they hate Mr Fox. They are determined to get him. So they lie in wait outside his hole, each one crouching behind a tree with his gun loaded, ready to shoot, starve or dig him out. But Mr Fox has other plans.

About this title

Review:

In the tradition of The Adventures of Peter Rabbit, this is a "garden tale" of farmer versus vermin, or vice versa. The farmers in this case are a vaguely criminal team of three stooges: "Boggis and Bunce and Bean / One fat, one short, one lean. / These horrible crooks / So different in looks / Were nonetheless equally mean." Whatever their prowess as poultry farmers, within these pages their sole objective is the extermination of our hero--the noble, the clever, the Fantastic Mr. Fox. Our loyalties are defined from the start; after all, how could you cheer for a man named Bunce who eats his doughnuts stuffed with mashed goose livers? As one might expect, the farmers in this story come out smelling like ... well, what farmers occasionally do smell like.

This early Roald Dahl adventure is great for reading aloud to three- to seven-year-olds, who will be delighted to hear that Mr. Fox keeps his family one step ahead of the obsessed farmers. When they try to dig him out, he digs faster; when they lay siege to his den, he tunnels to where the farmers least expect him--their own larders! In the end, Mr. Fox not only survives, but also helps the whole community of burrowing creatures live happily ever after. With his usual flourish, Dahl evokes a magical animal world that, as children, we always knew existed, had we only known where or how to look for it. (Great read aloud for any age; written at a 9- to 12-year-old reading level)

From the Inside Flap:

Fantastic Mr. Fox is on the run! The three meanest farmers around are out to get him. Fat Boggis, squat Bunce, and skinny Bean have joined forces, and they have Mr. Fox and his family surrounded. What they don?t know is that they?re not dealing with just any fox?Mr. Fox would never surrender. But only the most fantastic plan ever can save him now.

About this edition

• Publisher: Puffin Books
• Publication date: 1988
• ISBN 10: 0140326715
• ISBN 13: 9780140326710
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96