The Tale Of Tricky Fox [Hardcover]

Jim Aylesworth (Author), Barbara McClintock (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

A hilarious tale about a tricky fox who can outsmart any human except a teacher! "Cleverly paced repetition and an unexpected ending make this droll caper a winning choice." - Publishers Weekly, starred review "McClintock's lively line gets the tale's mischief just right.her wily Fox even winks conspiratorially at the reader." - The Horn Book, starred review

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The clever collaborators behind The Gingerbread Man and Aunt Pitty Patty's Piggy offer another buoyant retelling in this tale within a tale. A teacher from yesteryear gathers her students around her to read to them a book--which keen-eyed kids will recognize as the book in their own hands. It introduces Tricky Fox who brags to his brother that "I'm going to get me a fat pig!" Insisting that a fox could not possible carry such a critter, Brother Fox replies, "I'll eat my hat if you do!" The title character grows positively--and contagiously--gleeful as he tricks one and then another woman, so that it seems he just may accomplish his mission. Yet the next would-be victim of his pranks is a teacher (in fact, the very one seen on the opening page), and "Tricky Fox didn't know that teachers are not so easy to fool as regular humans are." Rendered in watercolor, black ink and gouache, McClintock's endearingly antique pictures add to the merriment, especially when the conniving fox winks at readers, drawing them into his joke. Cleverly paced repetition and an unexpected ending make this droll caper a winning choice. Ages 3-6.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-As they did in The Gingerbread Man (Scholastic, 1998), Aylesworth and McClintock have teamed up again, this time to create the wiliest of creatures in this version of "The Travels of a Fox." Acting on a bet he makes with Brother Fox, Tricky Fox vows to bring home a pig rather than a chicken for supper. He begs his way into homes, carrying a bag. When he goes to sleep, he tells the host to keep an eye on his bag, but not to look inside it. Knowing human nature, he figures that the homeowner will take a peek. During the night, he disposes of the contents of the bag and in the morning claims that something better was stolen. Of course, his hostess is embarrassed that this has happened in her own home and replaces whatever the fox claimed was in his sack. He pulls this con on several unsuspecting women until he meets up with a teacher, who sees through the ruse and puts her ferocious bulldog in his sack. What a surprise both Tricky and Brother Fox get when they open the bag at home. The romping good humor of the story is carried by the old-fashioned illustrations in sepia tones. Their size diversity-from small insets to full-page spread-moves the story to its conclusion. The tale is told by the teacher who finally unmasks the rascal. The expressions on Tricky and his unsuspecting victims are priceless.-Barbara Buckley, Rockville Centre Public Library, NY

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; Rei/Cas edition (March 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439095433
• ISBN-13: 978-0439095433
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,059,801 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Watch Out for Tricky Fox....., May 23, 2001

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tale Of Tricky Fox (Hardcover)

Tricky Fox is tired of stealing and eating chickens. It's just too easy and not all that fun anymore. He decides what he really wants is a pig and tells his brother that he can trick any human into giving him one. But, Brother Fox isn't so sure and takes the bet. "I'll eat my hat if you do!" he tells his tricky brother and the games begin. Carrying a sack and acting old and tired, Tricky Fox talks his way into three cottages, asking each little old lady homeowner to guard his sack while he sleeps. He adds that they mustn't look inside and of course, as soon as he falls asleep, that's exactly what they each do. The first night he puts a log in the sack and claims the next morning that his loaf of bread is gone. His hostess, embarrassed that she took a peek, quickly gets him a loaf of her own bread and says nothing, even though she knows it was a log in the sack. The next night he does the same thing with the bread, claiming the next morning that his chicken is missing, with the same results. But on his final evening, he tries to trick a teacher (and everyone knows that teachers are smarter than most humans) and learns a big lesson the hard way..... Jim Aylesworth has taken this old folktale and given it new life. His charming and amusing text is full of energy, rhythm and rhyme. Barbara McClintock's wonderfully old fashioned, detailed illustrations add just the right touch and together, this dynamic duo have authored a story that pulls your youngsters into the story, captures their imaginations and includes them in all the fun. Perfect for kids 4-8, The Tale of Tricky Fox is a winner!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IF YOU LOVE TALES LIKE "STONE SOUP," YOU WILL LOVE THIS ONE., December 30, 2011

By 

D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Tale of Tricky Fox (Hardcover)

I love old folktales and one of my favorite themes is that of the `trickster." This old tale dates back at least to the mid to late 1800s and is wonderfully retold by author Jim Aylesworth and this particular version of the story is livened up even more by the great art work of Barbara McClintock. The overall theme of course is old and quite common. When you read this one you will think instantly of "Stone Soup."

This is the story of a fox, Tricky Fox who is a little too smart for his own good. In this story we find out why foxes do not wear hats or caps, and why they no longer runaround bragging on themselves.

Tricky Fox is tired of chicken and informs his brother that he is going to upgrade his diet with a pig. Brother Fox points out the fact that stealing chickens is easy but stealing a pig is a whole different story. Brother Fox tells Tricky Fox that he will eat his hat if he is able to pull a pig heist off.

Tricky Fox is quite confident of his abilities and the gullibility of humans so he grabs his bag and runs off into the woods. Our overly confident fox has a tendency to choose elderly women living alone and his ploy is as follows:

"I'm on my way to
Bonny Bunny Bay.
The night grows cold,
And I'm so old.
Please let me stay."

At each home he stays, the talks the lady of the house into giving him something...always in search of the elusive pig he so desires. Finally, he feels he has found his mark and is sure to trick the last old lady into giving him a pig and loading it in his bag for him...This story is done in the progressive mode and one antic by the fox is followed by another; always adding more to the story as you read.

"I'm so clever - tee-hee-hee!
Trick, trick, tricky! Yes, siree!
Snap your fingers, slap our knee.
Human folks ain't smart like me."

I don't want to give the ending away, but old Tricky Fox learns that little old ladies living a lone most certainly are certainly smarter than he is!

This book opens and closes with a teacher reading the story to her students. The artist has used the typical drawings (in nice mellow colors and all extremely detailed) we find in books at the turn of the century.

This is a wonderful group read. The little poems found throughout are cute and the text is absolutely hilarious and will bring at least a smile to the face of all who read it. And we have the added bonus of finding out why foxes don't wear hats and why foxes no longer go about singing sassy songs!

This is an excellent book and needs to be in your child's library.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why it is that you never hear foxes singing sassy songs any more, August 15, 2005

By 

Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Tale Of Tricky Fox (Hardcover)

I have been reading so many trickster tales from around the world that it seems suddenly strange to read one in which the animal the trickster is portrayed as is a fox. "The Tale of Tricky Fox: A New England Trickster Tale" is about the time that Tricky Fox bets Brother Fox that he can fool any human into giving him a pig. The bet is made and Tricky Fox heads off with just an empty sack. But then along the way he picks up a log and puts it in the sack and heads off to knock on the door of the first in a series of houses. The question is whether Tricky Fox will be smart enough to trick everybody he meets in order to win his bet. After all, he is dealing with a succession of little old ladies from New England and if you do not know what they are like you should.

"The Tale of Tricky Fox" is retold here by Jim Aylesworth, who has loved this traditional trickster tale based on the "trading" motif for many years. An early version of the story entitled "The Travels of a Fox" from Massachusetts was first printed in 1897 by Clifton Johnson, who was one of the first Americans to gather Anglo-American folklore. The illustrations are by Barbara McClintock are rendered in watercolor, black ink, and gouache and certainly provide a sense of the 19th century when this tale was first told (indeed McClintock explains she was influenced by the 19th-century German artist Wilhelm Busch, who also inspired much of Maurice Sendak's work). McClintock presents Tricky Fox as though he was a character performing his antics onstage.

Those are the sort of details that make "The Tale of Tricky Fox" an excellent children's book, even if some young readers think that it smacks too much of the olden days, because that is its chief charm. Plus, on the back cover of the book we have a recipe for Tricky Fox's Eat-Your-Hat Cookies adapted from Jim Aylesworth's great-grandmother's sugar cookie recipe. Best of all, I do not need a grown-up to help me make them.