Red Fox and His Canoe (I Can Read Book 1) [Paperback]

Nathaniel Benchley (Author), Arnold Lobel (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: I Can Read Book 1

Red Fox wants a big canoe. And when he gets it, he's off to catch a million fish. But Red Fox gets more than he bargained for in his roomy new canoe -- a bear and his buddies, two otters, a raccoon and... soon there won't be any room left for Red Fox!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nathaniel Benchley was the author of several different types of books, as well as plays, movies and magazine articles.

He attended Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard College, majoring in English. Shortly after graduation, he married Marjorie Bradford, and they settled down in New York City, where he worked for several newspapers and magazines. In 1941, before the attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the U. S. Navy and was later trained to command small PT attack boats. He served in the Navy in the North and South Atlantic theaters and was on his way to the Pacific campaign when the war ended in 1945. He returned to New York and joined his wife and five year-old son, Peter. The next year, they had another son, Nathaniel Robert.

Nathaniel Benchley worked as a freelance writer –and painter- for the next 36 years. He wrote novels, plays, short stories, reviews, movie scripts and a very popular biography of the actor Humphrey Bogart. Much of his material was drawn from his life in New York and Nantucket, MA, where the family had a summer home. He found the small town life in Nantucket was rich in characters and material for adventures. He wrote a book titled The Off-Islanders, which was later made into a successful movie called "The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!" It was the story of a Russian submarine run aground on a small New England island. Several of his other books were also made into movies.

His sideline as a painter of landscapes led to his participation in many gallery showings.

Mr. Benchley used his fascination with history to create a series of books for beginning and teen readers. His particular interest was in taking a moment in history and examining it through the eyes of a young boy. He told stories about the Vikings coming to what would later be called "America;" Native American Indians dealing with the new settlers in their land ("Small Wolf"); young boys in Colonial America ("Sam the Minuteman" and "George the Drummer Boy") and the movement west; and a young boy who joins the Navy during World War II.

He also wrote a series of books for very beginning readers, many of which were about animals and their special bonds with humans ("Red Fox and His Canoe," "Oscar Otter").

He was always proudest of the letters he got from young readers who had identified with one of his characters and wanted to ask questions raised by their reading. He personally answered every letter he got from his readers.

In 1974, his son, Peter, published his first novel, Jaws, based on his experiences fishing off Nantucket in his youth (and a healthy imagination).

For the last many years of his life, Nathaniel Benchley lived in Nantucket with his wife.

Nathaniel Benchley lived by the motto: "A craftsman is one who does what he is given to do better than others feel is necessary." He died in Boston, MA, in 1981.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (May 1, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064440753
• ISBN-13: 978-0064440752
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #141,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Outdoor Recreation > Canoeing
  • #18 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( L ) > Lobel, Arnold
  • #39 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Multicultural Stories > Native North & South Americans

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful children's book!, March 11, 2001

By 

A. F. JACKSON (Boonville, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Red Fox and His Canoe (I Can Read Book 1) (Paperback)

The time has come for Red Fox to have his own canoe. He decides that it must be from the largest tree he can find. But when the canoe is finished, and he begins picking up hitchhikers, he learns that more is not always better! This was one of my favorite books as a child, and I am very lucky to have found it to share with my own children.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ms. Lovell's Class Book Review, November 14, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Red Fox and His Canoe (I Can Read Book 1) (Paperback)

Our class learned how to make canoes by reading this book. The book was very funny when the bear ate all of the fish. We learned about many different types of animals. Having something bigger is not always better. This book would be good for kids to read because you can learn about a lot of things.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lesson in good enough being good enough, May 7, 2006

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Red Fox and His Canoe (Paperback)

This is a story about an Indian boy who wants a bigger and better canoe, yet learns at the end that small and functional is most often good enough. Red Fox asks his father to help him build a bigger canoe, and they do. Red Fox then goes out on the water and catches a lot of fish. This attracts a large bear that climbs in the canoe and eats all the fish. More bears then climb in, followed by a raccoon and some otters. They all manage until a moose also wants to get in the canoe. This is too much and it breaks apart. Red Fox then takes some of the pieces and patches together a small personal canoe similar to what he had before.
The meaning of this story is clear and it is a valuable lesson for children. If what you have is good enough then asking for something better may cause problems that you can't handle. I enjoyed the story and recommend it for children three to six.