Fantastic Mr Fox

Roald Dahl is the grand master of the children's story. First published in 1970, 'Fantastic Mr Fox' may not have the reknown of 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', but it is a tale full of excitement and imagination. After almost forty years, it can still compete with the best of children's literature that is being published today.

Before we even meet Mr Fox, Roald Dahl introduces us to three obnoxious farmers who go by the names of Boggis, Bunce and Bean. Dahl really goes to town with his characterization here. Farmer Boggis keeps chickens and is a prime specimen of obesity because he eats three whole chickens along with dumplings for breakfast, lunch and supper every day. Farmer Bunce, on the other hand, has thousands of ducks and geese. He is a pot-bellied dwarf whose diet consists of doughnuts stuffed with goose liver paste. He seems to persist with this regime even though he has a stomach ache and a bad temper because of it. Lastly, there is Farmer Bean who keeps turkeys and has an apple orchard. No, he doesn't eat turkeys: he merely brews cider from his apples and drinks it by the gallon. He is extremely thin but very clever. These three farmers are so despicable that the local children chant a rhyme about their meanness when they see them. It is actually quite surprising that they manage to co-operate with each other, given their unpleasantness.

Co-operate they must, however, if they are to have any chance at all of outwitting Fantastic Mr Fox. Mr Fox has a wife and four little foxes to feed, and every evening he asks Mrs Fox whether she would like a chicken, a duck, a goose or a turkey. He then steals off to the appropriate farm and brings back the chosen bird. He is a wily creature who approaches the farm with the wind blowing towards him, so he will pick up the scent of a farmer lying in wait with a shotgun and quickly change direction.

Boggis, Bunce and Bean are furious and eventually decide they must hide outside Mr Fox's hole and shoot him as soon as he emerges. The story follows their frustrated attempts to do away with Mr Fox and his family, who always manage to dig further down and evade the farmers. The foxes are horrified when tractors are brought along to dig them out, but Mr Fox comes up with a plan to dig tunnels along to each of the farms and steal enough food and cider for a party. Help is enlisted from other animals, all of whom are invited to a great feast. Even the rabbits come along to enjoy great bunches of carrots.

Foxes are often portrayed as villains in children's stories, 'Chicken Licken' being a good example. In 'Fantastic Mr Fox', however, we find ourselves rooting for the family of foxes in the face of the drastic measures taken by the three loathsome farmers. The story moves along at a fast pace through chapters of about half a dozen pages each, and it's unlikely any child will have the chance to get bored.

Quentin Blake's wonderful illustrations contribute hugely to bringing the story alive. The animals are seen as life-size in comparison to the chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys. Mr Fox sports a stylish jacket and neck tie while Badger wears a waistcoat. Snouts and eyes are exaggerated, and the animals more often than not have beaming, enthusiastic smiles. The farmers, on the other hand, are grumpy, miserable souls. The illustration of two tractors with their headlights beaming makes them look like two monsters with sets of fangs, ready to gobble up an creature that should get in their way.

'Fantastic Mr Fox' is intended as a read-aloud story for children aged three to seven, or as a read-alone book for those aged nine to twelve. Three might be a little young, especially to listen to the whole story at one sitting. A confident independent reader younger than nine might easily tackle the book, as the text is set in a large font, sentences are short, and of course there are delightful illustrations on almost every page.

This may not be Roald Dahl's most famous children's story, but it is certainly one worth introducing to a young child. They will delight in poking fun at the farmers and enjoy following the thread of the animals working together to outwit them. There is never a dull moment in 'Fantastic Mr Fox'.

Fantastic Mr Fox

by Roald Dahl

Paperback, 96 pages

Puffin, 2007

ISBN 0141322659

Price £4.99 Amazon £3.19

Dahl's Dirty Beasts

Some children may grow up thinking that poetry is an art form that is stodgy and boring, or has to revolve around lofty ideas. If that is the case, they cannot have been introduced to Roald Dahl's 'Dirty Beasts', a collection of nine verses each featuring a creature that is either particularly frightening, very clever or quite extraordinary in some way. The book is likely to delight anyone who has enjoyed Dahl's 'The BFG', 'George's Marvellous Medicine' or 'The Twits', amongst others.

'The Pig' opens this anthology: a pig with a massive brain, who wonders what the purpose of his life is. He is clever enough to work it out:

'“They want my bacon slice by slice

“To sell at a tremendous price!

“They want my tender juicy chops

“To put in all the butchers' shops!”'

You can probably guess what happens when Farmer Bland comes to feed him the following morning.

No less gruesome is the verse about 'The Crocodile'. Not the best choice for bedtime reading, as this beast smears boys with mustard before crunching them, and devours little girls with butterscotch and caramel:

'It's such a super marvellous treat

When boys are hot and girls are sweet.'

A single page is then accorded to 'The Lion', who doesn't beat about the bush when it comes to telling us his favourite food. We are then introduced to 'The Scorpion' and told to be thankful that we in England will never find one in our bed – or will we? 'There's something moving on my feet'...

'The Ant-Eater' looks quite cuddly in comparison but beware, looks are deceiving. 'The Porcupine' teaches us the all-important lesson of having a good look before we sit down anywhere. A poor little girl fails to do this before settling on a 'comfy-looking little mound' to eat her favourite raspberry-cream chocolates that she has just bought with her pocket-money:

'My backside seemed to catch on fire!

A hundred bits of red-hot bits of wire

A hundred prickles sticking in

And puncturing my precious skin!'

A very costly visit to the dentist ensues, as mum seems to think he is the best person to remove the prickles. He seems to take great delight in doing so, and well he might with fifty guineas to come as payment.

We might expect 'The Cow' to be a less threatening beast, although Miss Milky Daisy is no ordinary cow but one that grows a pair of gold and silver wings. The crowds come to see her dive, swoop and loop the loop, and all but one of the onlookers clap, cheer and behave well. Can you guess what punishment is inflicted on the 'horrid man' who insults Daisy? Now we know why this anthology is entitled 'Dirty Beasts'.

The final verse in the collection, 'The Tummy Beast', describes a young boy who is convinced that there is someone in his tummy:

' “It's true!” I cried. “I swear it, mummy!

There is a person in my tummy!

He talks to me at night in bed,

He's always asking to be fed.” '

The poor boy's mother doesn't believe a word of it. She thinks it's just a 'silly asinine excuse' to be greedy and eat sugar buns and biscuits all day long. To look at this specimen of childhood obesity, you might tend to agree with her. I'm afraid, however, that 'darling mother' nearly dies when she actually hears the beast in the tummy snort, grumble and then actually demand nuts, chocolates and sweets. It's all too much for her.

Quentin Blake's imaginative caricatures add even more to the feeling of fun in this book. He really goes to town on the creatures in 'Dirty Beasts', where The Ant-eater devours an eighty-three-year-old woman (mistaking 'aunt' for 'ant'), flinging her in the air by her pony-tail. In 'the Toad and the Snail' we see grinning Frenchmen brandishing knives as they chase a giant toad; this turns out to be a magic toad who turns first into a giant snail and then into the 'gorgeous, glamorous, absurd, enchanting Roly-poly bird', a beautiful shade of blue with a multi-coloured, stripy tail, on whose back a little boy rides.

The humour here will not, of course, be to everyone's taste, and some of the ideas will be frightening for very young children. Slightly older independent readers, however, who appreciate this kind of humour will have plenty of fun going through this collection and letting their imagination run wild. The illustrations will provide a delightful source of encouragement. The only drawback is that the poems are not split into stanzas, and in a few cases there are as many as thirty-six continuous lines to a page. This could prove a little confusing or off-putting to a young reader who is still gaining confidence.

To anyone who has enjoyed Roald Dahl's novels but has not yet experienced his poetry, I would definitely recommend this collection of verse. I would also suggest it for children who perhaps need encouragement to read poetry and who will not be frightened by the ideas here but will see the funny side to them. There is plenty of rhythm and rhyme, and plenty of entertainment to be had.

Dirty Beasts

by Roald Dahl

with illustrations by Quentin Blake

Picture Puffins 2001

Paperback, 32 pages

ISBN 0140568239

Price £5.99 (Amazon £4.49)

Everyone is special

Jan Fearnley's 'Just Like You' is the delightful story of Mama Mouse and Little Mouse walking home to bed as the sun is setting. On their way they pass five other families of animals that are settling down for the night. Little Mouse notices in each case that one of the parents is telling the babies what they will do to look after them. Everything sounds so impressive that Little Mouse feels that the babies must be very special. Each time Mama Mouse tells her offspring that they are all indeed very special, 'Just like you'.

First they pass under a tree where a mother bird is telling her chicks in the nest that she will fly as high as the clouds and across the sky to find the best food for them. Then they come to a pond where Daddy Frog is settling the froglets under a lily leaf for the night. He promises to jump sky high and find the juiciest bugs for them. Little Mouse doesn't like the idea of the bugs but is still impressed. Further along the way, a mother rabbit and her kittens are basking in the sun's last rays of the day. The mother claims that she will dig the deepest burrow to keep her babies 'safe as treasure' and warm. Little Mouse thinks this sounds like hard work.

Down by the seashore, Mama Seal is singing a lullaby to her one and only pup. She boasts that she will dive deep to find shells, corals and fish for him. The last family that Mama Mouse and Little Mouse see is the family of foxes. Father Fox says he will run so far and fast that he will be able to protect his babies from any danger.

By the time the mice arrive home, Little Mouse is looking very thoughtful. As he gets ready for bed, he wonders what Mama Mouse will do for him, since she can't fly, jump, dig, dive or run. Maybe he is not special? Mama Mouse, however, assures him that she will tell him stories, play with him, feed him, cuddle him and even be extremely cross when he is naughty. Most of all, she will always love and care for him. Little Mouse goes to bed happy, feeling very special, and whispers that Mama Mouse is also very special, just like him.

Fearnley's story is a particularly sweet one for the very young. It is an ideal bedtime story because we see Little Mouse being tucked in bed right at the end, as well as the other animals settling down for the night earlier in the book. It is also an excellent story for introducing a small but varied group of animals that each have their own special skills that young children can learn about. The adult that has read to the child could ask if they can remember which animal can dive, which can jump, or which can run fast. A child might also learn from this book that a baby rabbit, just like a baby cat, is called a kitten, and that a baby seal is a pup.

I have the Mini Book version in which the font used for the text is rather small, but 'Just Like You' is available in a larger format. Some pages have two or three lines of text, some have only one and a few have five, so there is never a huge amount to read before moving on to the next page. The text is often superimposed on the illustrations but always on a light colour, so there is no difficulty in deciphering it. Although this is essentially a book to read aloud, young independent readers might enjoy it too.

Fearnley's accompanying watercolour illustrations are absolutely charming. We see Little Mouse trying to imitate Daddy Frog laughing and leaping, while Mama Mouse watches, hands on hips. A cross section of a warren depicts a mole banging on his ceiling with a broom as a rabbit in the hole above prances around playing on a pipe. On another page, a baby fox rolls in the grass, another is climbing all over his dad, and a third is offering him a poppy. On several pages there are extra little creatures to spot such as butterflies, ladybirds and a squirrel.

'Just Like You' makes a refreshing change from cartoon characters, dinosaurs and aliens should you or your children be growing tired of those. Unless you find a small font to be a problem, it is definitely worth buying the Mini Book for £1.99. The larger format is £5.99 (slightly discounted on Amazon). I would recommend it as a gentle bedtime story for those with a love of animals and the countryside.

Winnie's Midnight Dragon

I have long been a fan of Valerie Thomas's delightful tales of Winnie the Witch and her beloved cat Wilbur, as well as Korky Paul's hilarious illustrations. On a recent visit to the library, I was surprised to find Winnie's Midnight Dragon, which had up until then escaped my attention.

The story begins with Winnie going to bed as the clock strikes midnight; Wilbur is of course curled up in his basket at the foot of the bed. His slumbers are, however, soon disturbed by a strange noise in the garden and he goes to the cat flap to investigate. Poor Wilbur is terrified to see a baby dragon's nose poking through and puffing out smoke. As the dragon makes his way in, Wilbur turns backward somersaults and runs away. Unfortunately, the baby dragon sees this as a game and chases Wilbur, causing the grandfather clock to wobble and a suit of armour to crash down the stairs.

Wilbur wakes Winnie up and she is horrified to find her broomstick on fire. She has to use her magic fast, but the first spell goes wrong and the little dragon breathes out butterflies instead of smoke. More chasing ensues, and Winnie's belongings are smashing and crashing. Winnie, at the end of her tether, goes up onto the roof to call for the dragon's mother, but first she must magic an enormous moon to provide enough light for the baby to be seen. All ends well, and Winnie and Wilbur are eventually able to get back to bed as the day dawns.

The story is full of fun and certainly lives up to expectations. It is of course intended as a read-aloud book. Most pages feature just a few lines of text superimposed on the illustrations. Wherever possible, the text appears on a light coloured background, but in one or two cases the background is grey, purple or orange. I personally had no problem reading these pages. The font itself is quite large and clear, and whenever the word 'Abracadabra!' is used it is set in a larger font that has the appearance of a hand-written word. This could be an interesting book for a confident young reader to tackle alone, especially as the story is such fun and the illustrations are full of humour.

Korky Paul lets his imagination run riot when he illustrates Valerie Thomas's stories. Winnie has hairy legs half covered by yellow and orange striped socks under her pointed blue slippers. Wilbur is a sight to behold as he jumps in fright and runs away from the baby dragon, yelling and wide-eyed. The little dragon has a toothy grin and seems oblivious to the havoc he is creating as he goes after the butterflies. Some of the pages are predominantly in grey and purple hues as the story takes place at night, but things are brightened up by the orangey-yellow dragon as well as Winnie's patterned accessories and the colourful butterflies. Not to be forgotten, of course, are the charming illustrations for the front endpapers by Katherine Guo as well as for the back endpapers by Fabienne Derk; both were ten-years-old at the time.

I read this to a small group of four-year-old children who then had great fun acting out the story. They were able to exaggerate Wilbur's cries of 'Meeoww!' and shout out 'Abracadabra!' each time Winnie cast a spell. The part of the baby dragon is also highly amusing as he spends most of his time chasing either Wilbur or the butterflies.

The tales of Winnie the Witch never disappoint, and Winnie's Midnight Dragon is no exception. I would wholeheartedly recommend this as a picture book to read aloud to children from the age of about three, and because of the humour involved, up to perhaps six or seven. Definitely one to borrow from the library, but also an idea for a gift which I am sure would be appreciated.

Winnie's Midnight Dragon

by Valerie Thomas (author) and Korky Paul (illustrator)

Paperback, 32 pages

Oxford University Press, 2007

ISBN 019279101X

Price £5.99 (Amazon £4.99)

Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper

It might seem a strange combination, but a bagpiping Cat, a Squirrel with a banjo and a small singing Duck live together, seemingly in harmony, in a little house in a wood. We first see them through the window, have great fun together.

Their diet consists mainly of pumpkin soup – homemade, of course. Each has a particular task in the process: Cat slices the pumpkin, Squirrel stirs in the water and Duck tips in just enough salt. This never changes. There appears to be domestic bliss as they slurp their soup, play their song and cuddle up in bed with a quilt made by a joint effort. But the fact that duck still has his eyes open in bed gives us a clue that there is a current of dissatisfaction beneath the calm surface.

Duck has aspirations to be Head Cook, so one day he gets up early and makes the spoon hanging on the wall fall with his beak – 'KER-PLONK! Down it clattered'. In the bedroom Duck announces that it is his turn to stir the soup. A huge row ensues as the others don't want to change the way they do things. Signs and symbols in the illustration suggest that they are shouting unrepeatable words.

Duck packs his things in a barrow and leaves. Cat and Squirrel are initially angry but sure he will return. Duck, however, doesn't come for breakfast or lunch. Cat watches the door and Squirrel paces the floor until soup-time. The soup they make without Duck is too salty; they're not hungry and tears drip into the soup. The picture on this page shows Squirrel looking at his tearful reflection in his spoon. Realising they should have let Duck stir, they decide to go and look for him.

Searching the scary dark woods, Cat and Squirrel fear for Duck alone with foxes, wolves, witches and bears. They are afraid he fell over a cliff edge, but Squirrel finds nothing when he climbs down a rope to see. Duck, they think, may have found some better friends who allowed him to help – the picture here shows mice and birds queueing up at Duck's well-lit soup kiosk. They head for home, and I can assure you that the story ends happily, except that Duck wants to have a go on the bagpipes after supper...

The text is well broken up with charming little illustrations that I can imagine may appeal more to some young children than the pictures that take up full pages. Most parents will delight in these, I'm sure. The pumpkin, Squirrel and the quilt are all painted in warm, orangey-brown tones that give a cosy feel in contrast to the scenes of the wood where scary creatures and witches threaten the wanderers. It is easy to see why this book won the Kate Greenaway Award for Children's Illustration.

This is definitely a book to be read aloud, probably to children aged three up. It would be a difficult one for a child learning to read, as there is quite a bit of text on some pages along with a few lengthy words such as 'embroidered' and 'bagpiping'. It would, however, be an interesting challenge for a very able child who finds the usual reading-scheme books too easy.

The story of course deals with issues such as taking turns and allowing others to have a go at tasks or activities that appeal to them even if they may not be very skilled at first. It shows how angry we can be when we are selfish, but how sad we feel when we realise how much we have upset someone after they have gone away. Bravery is shown by Cat and Squirrel as they venture through the dark wood, and even more so when Squirrel descends the cliff face. Many lessons there, then, but it is overall a very enjoyable story with a touch of humour to end with.

I think it must be clear by now that I do thoroughly recommend this picture book. I have also used it as a basis for a drama session with three- to four-year-olds; there are only three main roles, but the other children enjoyed pretending to be witches or wolves and making scary noises. It lends itself particularly well to the wintery season and would make an ideal Christmas present. Otherwise, borrow from the library as I did.

Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper

ISBN 0552545104

£5.99 (£4.49 on Amazon)

Winnie flies again

Having been spellbound by Valerie Thomas's original Winnie the Witch story, I was sure I would enjoy other books in the series just as much; the second one I read was Winnie Flies Again. Hoping that Winnie's beloved cat Wilbur would again feature prominently, and that Korky Paul would provide the illustrations, I was not disappointed on either score.

It is no surprise to find that Winnie travels by broomstick, or that Wilbur accompanies her, sitting on her shoulder. Imagine the freedom, with no traffic lights to tie you down. However, at one time the skies were empty, but of course they eventually become chock full of helicopters, hot-air balloons, aeroplanes and rockets. One day Winnie has a nasty collision with a helicopter, and poor Wilbur loses two of his whiskers. Further accidents ensue: Wilbur's tail is bent by a hang glider, and then he loses a clump of fur as Winnie crashes into the turret of a very tall building. Winnie herself is left hanging from her broomstick by her legs, and she decides that action must be taken.

When Winnie waves her wand, the broomstick is transformed into a bicycle. Pedalling proves to be hard work, and Winnie lands in a pond. She experiments with a skateboard and then a horse, but they both turn out to be equally hazardous. Winnie and Wilbur eventually decide to walk home, but even then Winnie falls down a hole. She decides that a cup of tea and a muffin are in order, not forgetting a saucer of milk for Wilbur of course. Neither of them get what they are after, but Winnie is in fact offered a solution to her problem. If you want to know what it is, you will have to read the book.

The story is full of mishaps, and this has allowed Korky Paul to go to town with his illustrations. If you have never seen Winnie the Witch, you might be surprised by her attire. She has yellow and red striped tights on her spindly legs, ridiculously pointed blue shoes, and a pointed hat decorated with stripes, stars and moons rather than the usual plain black variety. Her nose is long, pointed and red. Splashes of bold colour stream across the page whenever she waves her wand. Many of the illustrations are double spreads, and we sees an aviator, an Indian and a pirate as well as bird's eye views with towering turrets.

It all sounds so unfortunate, but there is plenty of humour here whilst our sympathy goes out to the characters, especially Wilbur, who has a pretty thin time of it. Children love the story as well as the riotous, colourful pictures that go alongside it. You cannot really go wrong reading aloud the Winnie the Witch series of books to children; it certainly doesn't have to be Hallowe'en. I would say that a suitable starting age is probably three, going up to five or six.

This is an ideal book to read aloud, and possible a suitable one for a fairly confident young reader as well. There isn't a huge amount of text on each page, in fact sometimes there are as few as three lines on a double page. The pictures would probably do a lot to encourage a struggling reader to continue to the end of the story.

If you know and love the Winnie the Witch stories, there is a six-in-one collection of them available at £14.99, or as little as £9.89 on Amazon. If you are yet to make the acquaintance of Winnie and Wilbur, this story is available for £4.49 on Amazon. I recommend it without the slightest hesitation.

Winnie Flies Again

by Korky Paul (illustrator) and Valerie Thomas (author)

Oxford University Press

Paperback, 32 pages

ISBN 0192726463

Price £5.99 (Amazon £4.49)

Albert visits the cloud children

I have only recently discovered John Burningham's children's books, and I wonder why it has taken me so long to do so. The Financial Times describes Burningham as 'one of the best writers in the business', whilst the TES states that 'the language of children is Burningham's'. I wasn't over impressed by 'Mr Gumpy's Outing', but I nevertheless borrowed 'Cloudland' from the library and was particularly glad that I did.

'Cloudland' appeared to be a tragic story at the outset. Albert, a young boy, is out walking in the mountains with his parents, and they are actually above the clouds. Albert's father suddenly realises that it is beginning to get dark and urges his wife and son to hurry down whilst they can see where they are going. Poor Albert, however, almost immediately trips and falls off a cliff, leaving his parents feeling devastated. At this point I wondered whether this story would be just too tragic to read to young children, but then I found that Albert was safely caught by the children who live in the clouds.

The central part of the book shows Albert having fun during the days he spends with the cloud children. Together they play jumping games, make thunderous noises, swim in the rain, paint rainbows and go racing in the wind. As much as Albert enjoys all these amazing activities, the time comes when he begins to feel homesick and the Queen of Cloudland hears him shouting 'I WANT TO GO HOME.' Will she be able to send him back to Earth to be reunited with his grief-stricken parents?

Visually this is a stunning book, although I think it has to be said that many of the illustrations will be better appreciated by adults than by children. Well, why not, if it is adults who are reading the book? There are some double-page spreads with little or no text at all, where drawings of the characters are superimposed on breathtakingly beautiful photographs of mountains, sunset skies or storm clouds with pink-tinged edges. Children, however, will surely love the sketchy drawings of the cloud children holding out their hands to catch the falling Albert, banging drums and cymbals to create thunder and lightning, or jumping through billowing clouds. It is a wonderful book for allowing the imagination to run riot.

The text is in a large clear font. Sometimes there are as few as three lines per page, sometimes there is a whole page of text broken into short, well-spaced paragraphs and perhaps including a small, black-and-white sketch. There is quite a bit of dialogue, which helps to bring the characters to life. This could be a suitable book for confident young readers to tackle independently, especially as the illustrations will prove attractive and give hints to the storyline. The only problem is that the people of Cloudland occasionally utter magic words such as 'Hee ho goggle gralley fumble', or 'Teetum waggle bari se nee.' These are wonderful-sounding phrases that usual result in fits of giggles when reading the story aloud, but they might not be so easy for a young child to try to read on their own. Adult help could be needed there.

I have discovered some wonderful picture books for young children over the course of the past few months, but this has to be one of the very best in terms of both the originality of the story and the excellence of the illustrations. There is enjoyment to be had for the adult reader and the young child who is looking and listening; imaginations are stimulated in new directions. Don't hesitate to borrow it from your library, but also give it serious consideration as a present that I'm sure will be treasured.

Cloudland

by John Burningham

Paperback, 48 pages

Red Fox, 1999

ISBN 0099711613

Price £6.99 (Amazon £5.24)