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Summary
Summary
Is the fox as clever as he thinks he is? Once there was a little fox who thought he was too smart for school. After all, he thought, foxes are clever already. A fox like himself could certainly outwit a chicken . . . or could he?
Author Notes
FRIEDERIKE RAVE was born in Flensburg, Germany, and studied at the University of Wuppertal. Her last book with NorthSouth was Anna's Wish .
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-A hungry fox decides that he is too clever for school; instead, he is going to catch a hen and make chicken fricassee. He goes to the henhouse where he demands a chicken. The hens invite him in and politely tell him that they all have colds, and that they will contact him when they get better. The fox visits every night for a week, but the hens, wrapped up in their warm and colorful mufflers and sneezing on him, say they are still sick. Weak from hunger, he tries to catch mice and rabbits, but he is too slow. Then he sees a sleeping hunter with a sausage sandwich. He snatches it but wakes the hunter and has to run for it. Back at home, he eats the sandwich and thinks he is so clever and decides to get the chickens the next day. By then, the hens are shown taking off, suitcases in hand and pulling little strollers holding their eggs. The story is told from the fox's point of view, but the bright cartoon illustrations show the hens whitewashing every page. The humor will appeal to crafty chickens and clever children.-Samantha Larsen Hastings, West Jordan Public Library, UT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The titular fox in Rave's (Anna's Wish) latest is continually frustrated by the hens he hopes to dine on. In every spread, viewers see a hen using paint brushes, rollers, and even a roll of paper to blanket Rave's pastoral scenery in white. It's a whimsical, unexpected touch, even if its meaning is opaque (the hen almost seems to be toying with readers-perhaps even with Rave herself). The fox doesn't depend on guile to catch the hens; instead, he asks them flat out. "I'd like a nice chicken fricassee for dinner," he says, dropping by the henhouse. "I thought maybe you could help me out." The hens, wearing scarves and mufflers and coughing delicately, promise to let the fox know the minute they're over the cold they've come down with. Readers will wait for what sounds like a promising bang at the end of this fuse, but it never comes. The fox turns hypochondriac and steals a sandwich from a hunter, and the chickens head for the beach. It's a shame, because Rave's paintings are delicious morsels; wittily drafted, and generously scattered with comic asides. Ages 3-up. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
A self-proclaimed clever fox craves chicken fricassee for dinner. But the sniffling, sneezing hens "are not feeling very tasty"--six nights in a row. The disjointed text follows the frustrated fox who's ultimately outsmarted by the flock of crafty chickens. Silly scarf-clad hens and other amusing details provide lots to look at in the witty illustrations. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
There is a snug irresistibility to Rave's book, a modesty and economy that give it an immediately comforting, small-town feeling. A young fox decides to skip school"foxes are clever enough already"to sleep late and make plans for supper: chicken fricassee. (Forget that you won't hear another mention of school; it has served its purpose as an attention-getter.) He visits the local henhouse, where he is invited inside, these being polite chickens, only to find that they all have colds. The chickens explain they won't make good eating, what with the colds and all, and that the fox should come another day. Clever chickensthey keep up the ruse until they can catch a bus to the warm south. Not to be outdone, the fox finds a sausage sandwich next to a napping hunter, and that'll do in a pinch. The author keeps everything lighthearted, and her boldly outlined illustrations work on readers like a charm, from their sophisticated colors to their strong narrative flow to the strange hen that busily whitewashes part of each page to show off the text against a bright backdrop. (Picture book. 5-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.