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Summary
Summary
Illustrated verses follow the activities of Father Fox and his family
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Fans of Father Fox's Pennyrhymes (HarperCollins, 2001) will welcome this glimpse into the family's yuletide celebrations. Rhyming text accompanies cozy images of the large, raggedy, but joyous foxes as they prepare for Christmas. For the most part, the verses lack the folksy, nursery-rhyme quality of Pennyrhymes and aren't particularly memorable, but the illustrations of the busy and ebullient foxes are enticing. As a whole, this book has plenty of warmth, charm, and Christmas spirit.-E. M. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The Watson sisters reassemble the fox cast of their beloved Father Fox's Pennyrhymes to celebrate an old-fashioned Christmas, the sort Mother Goose might have conjured had she lived in New England. Full-page compositions framed in white borders, panel and spot art vary the pacing, decked in a holiday palette of reds and greens-not the shiny colors of ornaments, but the calm, subtle hues of folk art. The individual foxes, meanwhile, are as full of personality as ever. The rhymes can be read singly or as one loosely joined narrative. From Father Fox arriving home "with sweets in my pockets & holes in my socks" and the cubs making a snow horse ("Up into the saddle/ Holding tight to your mane/ I'll gallop to the North Pole/ & come right back again") to wishing on the "first star I see tonight" for "peace & love & joy," this book distills the essence of the season's many pleasures. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Preschool, Primary) In the spirit of the Watsons' Father Fox's Pennyrhymes (rev. 10/71), here are fifteen rhymed vignettes that focus on the season's joyful preparations and the warmth of family activities. The rhythms are as crisp as they were in the earlier book, but the mood is gentler, the descriptions realistic and evocative rather than whimsical and nonsensical. Some descriptions seem commonplace (""Here it is, the perfect tree / A prettier sight there cannot be""), but these tend to be redeemed by subsequent humor and arresting images (""It stands majestic with the rest / Trimmed just with snow & a small bird's nest""). The excitement and beauty of winter without is balanced by the cozy fire within and the immediate family harmony by a universal ""wish for peace & love & joy / More precious things than any toy / There is enough, if we will share / For every creature, everywhere."" Wendy Watson's full-page art in this larger book is more capacious, more appropriate for group sharing than in the earlier one. Her foxes, while less delicately detailed, are characterized with more subtlety and assurance; her compositions -- in gently muted tones of Christmas colors -- expertly underline the prevailing amity. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
The frisky fox family from the Watsons' beloved classic Father Fox's Pennyrhymes (1971) celebrates Christmas together in this beautifully designed tribute to an old-fashioned holiday season. Fifteen rhyming poems follow the foxes as they decorate, make presents, play music, eat with the relatives, and play in the snow, and then enjoy their tree and presents together. Some of the poems are jolly and funny, while others are more quiet and thoughtful, speaking of candlelit walks in the forest, listening for angel voices, or wishing on the first star, "a wish for peace and love and joy." The charming foxes in their patched, old-fashioned clothes have irresistible expressions, and the exciting, candlelit spirit of the season captured in both art and poetry is irresistible as well. Like the bright flames in the foxes' hearth, this charming collection "will toast the toes and warm the heart." (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
PreS-Gr.2. Clad in patched clothes and a Santa cap, old Father Fox looks as spry as ever, springing across the jacket of this crowd-pleasing book of Christmas verse. Those who remember the classic Father Fox's Pennyrhymes (1971) will find the new book, with its oversize format and larger-scale illustrations, better suited to sharing with groups of children. The short verses create some precise, pleasant images: "The kitchen is bursting with uncles & aunts / With buttery fingers & floury pants," but it is the artwork that will draw children to the book and keep them amused and absorbed. Full of lively details, the ink drawings are washed with glowing watercolors, in tawny browns, muted blues and greens, and jewel-bright details in red and yellow. A Christmas treat for children who will enjoy the bustle and the quiet pleasures of this friendly fox family. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2003 Booklist