Miss Fox

by Simon Puttock, Holly Swain (Illustrations)

Miss Felicity Fox is a wonderful teacher. She buys donuts and chocolate cakes with lovely pink icing for all the children in her class. All the children love Miss Fox. All, that is, except naughty Lily Lamb, the naughtiest girl in school. When Miss Fox takes the class on a long and lonely nature walk, Lily is the only one who suspects that Miss Fox's dazzling smile conceals a sinister scheme . . . This deliciously Dahl-esque story appeals to children's love of dark, mordant humor.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 2006

Reviews

[Skylar Burris · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a great book if you want to teach your child that it's good and brave to be stubborn, obnoxious, and disrespectful to authority figures such as teachers. I get the point--don't be a blind sheep; there's virtue in thinking for yourself. But the context of the story (student/teacher), and the fact that it will be read to young children who have a hard enough time learning to be respectful of adults as it is--it's not good. There are better ways to convey the importance of independent thought and discernment without making it hip to be bad. An adult who has already learned to be civilized can appreciate the irony and the point of this story; for a child, I think it would just reinforce disrespect for authority in any context. From page one, I thought: this lamb IS my daughter. Stubborn as steel and marching to the beat of her own drummer, smart and perceptive--and there is virtue in that; you don't want to destroy that independent spirit or subject it to blind conformity; on the other hand, you don't want it to evolve into selfish arrogance either. This book definitely did not tell her what she needed to hear, though it may have told her what she wanted to hear. And I keep saying I'm going to start PREVIEWING library books before I read the aloud to her...Every now and then I get a reminder like this that I really, really need to.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute book that I would share in the 1-3 grades. It is about Ms Fox who is the best teacher, she brings treats and eats for her class and is so nice to them all. Lily the lamb however, does not buy it. When the teacher takes them for a walk, Lily is the only one who sees Ms Fox's wicked plan.

[Nicola · Rating 1 out of 5]

The reality is that the intent of the book is only going to be conveyed to the adult readers. A young audience is going to hear that being rude to authority figures is okay and that violence is acceptable as a solution. A definite MISS for me.

Miss 4 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.

[Madelyn Camacho-Meyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the beginning of the book, and I definitely thought that it was going to go about it a different way. I wish it would have shown Lily Lamb behaving overall and seeing that Ms. Fox is a good teacher. I personally did understand why the purpose of the book was for Miss Fox to try to eat them. I think that the writing is neat; it looks almost like handwriting, and the illustrations are cartoon-like.

[Carina · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a first grader, I thought this book was funny, but my mom disagreed! She was didn’t think a substitute teacher fattening up her students and then attempting to eat them was numerous. Nor did she like the lamb doing whatever she wanted and then pushing the teacher off a cliff! Maybe this is reminiscent of classic fairy tales, but she thinks this book from the early 2000s didn’t age well!

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loads of opportunity for inference skills and guessing what will happen next.

[Craig Nicol · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about questioning authority figures who may or may not be as they seem. Does a wonderful teacher hide a secret, and should you do whatever they say and listen to their propaganda or think for yourself?

The book also uses a Dyslexia font, so children who may have been told that they were slow or stupid by teachers with less understanding may find comfort in this story.

And yes, just because someone gives you a sugar high and tells you foxes are the best doesn't mean foxes want what's best for you.

[Milo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but Mama thought it was sort of creepy. She liked the idea that kids can challenge grown ups. But, she didn't like how scary this grown up was. She thought there might have been a better way to express this idea.

[Catherine Takeuchi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this book was a bit creepy for the age of the audience. I read it to my three year old and debated whether to stop in the middle or not.