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The Tale Of Tricky Fox

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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!

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

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.

I think that the Tale Of Tricky Fox is a wonderful, well-written children's book. It teaches the youngsters who read it a valuable lesson through a cute, exaggerated story about a clever fox who tries to trick adorable elderly women into getting what he wants, a big fat pig.
To Tricky Fox, "stealing chickens is too easy." He plans on getting himself a plump pig to eat. How might he go about doing that, Brother Fox questions him. "I will fool a human into putting one into my sack for me!" Tricky Fox has a witty idea up his sleeve.
He pretends that his is an old, tired, feeble Fox who needs a warm place to sleep. Each night, he finds a new woman to take part in his sly scheme.
Everything seems to being going well for Tricky Fox. He is right on his way to getting the "big fat pig" he dreamed of. However, the last old woman he tries to trick is a school teacher. Everyone knows that teachers are much smarter than "regular humans" and this teacher has a feeling that Tricky Fox is up to something.
In the end, well, I can't spoil the story, now can I?
I highly recommend this story for children of all ages. I, myself, enjoyed the lesson-teaching storyline, the quirky rhymes, the lovable characters, the crafty twist of an ending, and the old-fashioned illustrations. I believe that any good-hearted person will find this an amusing, silly masterpiece of children's literature.

This is a great retelling of a "trickster tricked" story, the retelling by Jim Aylesowrth and the illustrations by Barbara McClintock. The writing, especially Tricky Fox's sassy song and the colloquial country voice, is excellent, as are the illustrations. Children will love the setup, the three attempts at trickery, and the outcome. I would have enjoyed this story more if all three peeking victims hadn't been women. The way this story works now, it seems to be saying that women cannot be trusted to keep their word.

Completely delightful story of a cute, clever, cocky fox who plays tricks on unsuspecting women just to win a bet with his cousin. One of the unsuspecting women, however, manages to return Tricky Fox's cleverness with a little trick of her own... Read and find out all the entertaining details! Kids and adults both will find the story fun and satisfying, and the illustrations well-detailed and expressive.