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Haunt Fox
This is the story of a red fox, of a boy and a dog who hunted him, and of the wilderness where it happened.
Because of the odd-shaped white patch on his chest that gave him his name, and the freak six toes on his front feet, Star was a marked fox from his youngest days. And because of his growing wisdom and cunning in escaping traps and dogs, he also became known as a "haunt" fox—an elusive prize eagerly sought by every hunter in the valley. Evading pursuit was a game Star enjoyed as much as did the hounds that trailed him.
Young Jack Crowley and his foxhound, Thunder, were the youngest hunters on the "haunt" fox's trail. The climax makes a surprising ending to one of the best wild animal stories Jim Kjelgaard has ever written.
Because of the odd-shaped white patch on his chest that gave him his name, and the freak six toes on his front feet, Star was a marked fox from his youngest days. And because of his growing wisdom and cunning in escaping traps and dogs, he also became known as a "haunt" fox—an elusive prize eagerly sought by every hunter in the valley. Evading pursuit was a game Star enjoyed as much as did the hounds that trailed him.
Young Jack Crowley and his foxhound, Thunder, were the youngest hunters on the "haunt" fox's trail. The climax makes a surprising ending to one of the best wild animal stories Jim Kjelgaard has ever written.
220 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1954
2 people are currently reading
299 people want to read
About the author
Jim Kjelgaard
106 books163 followersan American author of young adult literature.
Born in New York City, New York, Jim Kjelgaard is the author of more than forty novels, the most famous of which is 1945's "Big Red." It sold 225,000 copies by 1956 and was made into a 1962 Walt Disney film with the same title, Big Red. His books were primarily about dogs and wild animals, often with animal protagonists and told from the animal's point of view.
Jim Kjelgaard committed suicide in 1959, after suffering for several years from chronic pain and depression.
- Wikipedia -
Born in New York City, New York, Jim Kjelgaard is the author of more than forty novels, the most famous of which is 1945's "Big Red." It sold 225,000 copies by 1956 and was made into a 1962 Walt Disney film with the same title, Big Red. His books were primarily about dogs and wild animals, often with animal protagonists and told from the animal's point of view.
Jim Kjelgaard committed suicide in 1959, after suffering for several years from chronic pain and depression.
- Wikipedia -
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
November 22, 2019
Star - so named because of the star-shaped patch of white fur on his chest - was an inquisitive young fox with a nose for adventure, and a talent for getting himself out of tight spots. When his raids on the farms in the valley, and subsequent ability to elude his hunters, earn him the sobriquet 'Haunt Fox' - "A "haunt" fox was an especially elusive one, a beast with ghost-like qualities," the narrator informs the reader - he becomes the prime quarry for all the eager fox-hunters of the area, from grim woodsman Dade Matson to adolescent farm-boy Jack Crowley. As Star pursues his own path in the wild - ranging far abroad to avoid an outbreak of rabies, finding and mating with the she-fox Vixen, providing for his first family of cubs - Jack yearns to bring him down, thereby winning a reputation as a hunter, and proving the worth of his hound, Thunder. But when the boy and fox do finally meet, the outcome is unexpected...
Originally published in 1954, Haunt Fox is one of Jim Kjelgaard's many stories featuring animal characters - the author's dog books, from Big Red to Snow Dog , are perhaps amongst his best-known work - who are realistically depicted in their natural setting. Although long aware of the author's reputation, I had never before picked up one of his books, and wasn't sure just what to expect. As someone who believes that subsistence hunting is justifiable, but finds sport hunting morally deranged, I was worried that the author would glorify hunting in a way I found unpleasant - that the focus would be on killing the animal as a kind of victory for the boy. What I discovered instead was that, although the author does indeed depict hunting as a noble activity, he by no means finds all hunting or hunters admirable. Dade Matson, who makes his living from the woods, is depicted as a cold and mercenary man, one who has no real interest in the animals he kills, save as a means to earning money. Jack Crowley, on the other hand, is depicted as a hunter who appreciates the cunning of his foe, the loyalty and perseverance of his dog, and the pleasure of the hunt itself. What seems to separate good hunters from bad hunters, in Kjelgaard's view, is joy: Dade Matson's hunt is all about the outcome, the killing; whereas Jack and Thunder's hunt is all about the process, about pitting one's skills against a worthy adversary. And so it is that when Jack finds Star caught in one of Dade Matson's many traps, while pursuing him through the snowy forest, . This was not the outcome I was expecting, and left me with a great deal to ponder. I enjoyed this tale immensely, largely because I found Star, whose narrative predominates, such an engaging character, but also because the unexpected complexity in the depiction of hunters and hunting gave me something to think about. Wholeheartedly recommended to young readers who enjoy animal stories, or to anyone who appreciates tales about clever foxes.
Originally published in 1954, Haunt Fox is one of Jim Kjelgaard's many stories featuring animal characters - the author's dog books, from Big Red to Snow Dog , are perhaps amongst his best-known work - who are realistically depicted in their natural setting. Although long aware of the author's reputation, I had never before picked up one of his books, and wasn't sure just what to expect. As someone who believes that subsistence hunting is justifiable, but finds sport hunting morally deranged, I was worried that the author would glorify hunting in a way I found unpleasant - that the focus would be on killing the animal as a kind of victory for the boy. What I discovered instead was that, although the author does indeed depict hunting as a noble activity, he by no means finds all hunting or hunters admirable. Dade Matson, who makes his living from the woods, is depicted as a cold and mercenary man, one who has no real interest in the animals he kills, save as a means to earning money. Jack Crowley, on the other hand, is depicted as a hunter who appreciates the cunning of his foe, the loyalty and perseverance of his dog, and the pleasure of the hunt itself. What seems to separate good hunters from bad hunters, in Kjelgaard's view, is joy: Dade Matson's hunt is all about the outcome, the killing; whereas Jack and Thunder's hunt is all about the process, about pitting one's skills against a worthy adversary. And so it is that when Jack finds Star caught in one of Dade Matson's many traps, while pursuing him through the snowy forest, . This was not the outcome I was expecting, and left me with a great deal to ponder. I enjoyed this tale immensely, largely because I found Star, whose narrative predominates, such an engaging character, but also because the unexpected complexity in the depiction of hunters and hunting gave me something to think about. Wholeheartedly recommended to young readers who enjoy animal stories, or to anyone who appreciates tales about clever foxes.
June 15, 2021
I intentionally read this immediately after Cinnabar, the One O'Clock Fox because I wanted to draw direct comparisons between the two fox books on my shelf. My assumptions proved correct: Henry's writing is a much faster, easier read, while I found Kjelgaard's book significantly more to my taste.
The summary is misleading; I'd thought, going into this story, that it'd be a heartwarming tale about a boy and a fox, potentially with the boy taming the fox. Jack - and his foxhound, Thunder - are actually barely in the story at all. They're minor characters, showing up at the beginning and the end, with only brief mentions in all the pages between, which are dedicated to Star himself.
Kjelgaard knows how to tell an engrossing, believable, empathy-inducing story about animals while letting them remain animals. Star is a crafty, woods-wise fox who doesn't have anything approaching human intelligence. He figures out a lot of things about hunting and humans and traps, including how to harmlessly spring them - but when his mate, Vixen, gets caught in a trap, he responds in a very interesting way. He doesn't suddenly deduce how the trap works, or determine how to get her out of it; he sniffs and analyzes enough of the trap structure to determine that the chain is holding her fast, so he buries the chain under a layer of snow and thinks that might help.
I appreciate touches like this; when you have a creature whose behaviors don't require you to suspend your disbelief, the ways in which they demonstrate their brilliance become even more impressive. Kjelgaard, a former forest ranger, knows a lot about the woods and animals, and it shows.
Like in Henry's book, there's a certain amount of glorifying fox hunting. I grimaced each time Dade, the trapper, was set up as the villain because he hunted animals for money instead of the pure joy of the sport.
In my opinion, trapping and hunting creatures in order to put food on your table is much more honorable than shooting animals you don't need, simply because it's fun.
Dade's villainy does get anchored in much more solidly once he starts trapping pregnant foxes so he can wait until they give birth before killing all the cubs for their pelts and bounty. (Very Cruella de Vil of him; even with the food-on-the-table argument, it's hard to feel any sympathy for someone who kills a bunch of baby animals.)
There is also a nice scene where a bunch of the farmers go out in the woods to sit around a campfire, listening to their dogs chasing a fox, without ever intending to actually catch it. It's not necessarily about the catching, for them, but the simple pleasure of finding a way to unwind after long days of grueling labor.
Kjelgaard, a hunter himself, goes with that same claim about the fox "enjoying the game," which I'm still skeptical about, but he handles it with enough realism to make it believable. Star does panic at the presence of humans, and never intentionally keeps the dogs on his trail, but he enjoys flexing his muscles and employing his quick wit to escape them.
I was a little bit worried about the ending, but it is a satisfying one - open-ended, so you can imagine what comes next in Star's life, and whether Dade is ever able to track him or his mate or his cubs down. Kjelgaard doesn't shy away from the violence inherent in the wilderness: the foxes hunt and kill, just as they are hunted and killed. There's a circle of life, with a balance to it; when too many of the foxes die, the rabbits and mice and grouse overrun the forest, because they have no predator to keep them in check. But if the woods were too full of foxes, their hunting grounds would run thin, and many of them would starve.
Kjelgaard has an intelligent, vivid writing style; while this isn't a perfect book for me, I still enjoyed it thoroughly. He has a way of bringing you into the woods with him and encouraging you to experience all the sights and smells alongside him. I enjoy this type of armchair traveling - I would despise sitting by that midwinter campfire with all the hunters, but I sure do like reading about it.
The summary is misleading; I'd thought, going into this story, that it'd be a heartwarming tale about a boy and a fox, potentially with the boy taming the fox. Jack - and his foxhound, Thunder - are actually barely in the story at all. They're minor characters, showing up at the beginning and the end, with only brief mentions in all the pages between, which are dedicated to Star himself.
Kjelgaard knows how to tell an engrossing, believable, empathy-inducing story about animals while letting them remain animals. Star is a crafty, woods-wise fox who doesn't have anything approaching human intelligence. He figures out a lot of things about hunting and humans and traps, including how to harmlessly spring them - but when his mate, Vixen, gets caught in a trap, he responds in a very interesting way. He doesn't suddenly deduce how the trap works, or determine how to get her out of it; he sniffs and analyzes enough of the trap structure to determine that the chain is holding her fast, so he buries the chain under a layer of snow and thinks that might help.
I appreciate touches like this; when you have a creature whose behaviors don't require you to suspend your disbelief, the ways in which they demonstrate their brilliance become even more impressive. Kjelgaard, a former forest ranger, knows a lot about the woods and animals, and it shows.
Like in Henry's book, there's a certain amount of glorifying fox hunting. I grimaced each time Dade, the trapper, was set up as the villain because he hunted animals for money instead of the pure joy of the sport.
In my opinion, trapping and hunting creatures in order to put food on your table is much more honorable than shooting animals you don't need, simply because it's fun.
Dade's villainy does get anchored in much more solidly once he starts trapping pregnant foxes so he can wait until they give birth before killing all the cubs for their pelts and bounty. (Very Cruella de Vil of him; even with the food-on-the-table argument, it's hard to feel any sympathy for someone who kills a bunch of baby animals.)
There is also a nice scene where a bunch of the farmers go out in the woods to sit around a campfire, listening to their dogs chasing a fox, without ever intending to actually catch it. It's not necessarily about the catching, for them, but the simple pleasure of finding a way to unwind after long days of grueling labor.
Kjelgaard, a hunter himself, goes with that same claim about the fox "enjoying the game," which I'm still skeptical about, but he handles it with enough realism to make it believable. Star does panic at the presence of humans, and never intentionally keeps the dogs on his trail, but he enjoys flexing his muscles and employing his quick wit to escape them.
I was a little bit worried about the ending, but it is a satisfying one - open-ended, so you can imagine what comes next in Star's life, and whether Dade is ever able to track him or his mate or his cubs down. Kjelgaard doesn't shy away from the violence inherent in the wilderness: the foxes hunt and kill, just as they are hunted and killed. There's a circle of life, with a balance to it; when too many of the foxes die, the rabbits and mice and grouse overrun the forest, because they have no predator to keep them in check. But if the woods were too full of foxes, their hunting grounds would run thin, and many of them would starve.
Kjelgaard has an intelligent, vivid writing style; while this isn't a perfect book for me, I still enjoyed it thoroughly. He has a way of bringing you into the woods with him and encouraging you to experience all the sights and smells alongside him. I enjoy this type of armchair traveling - I would despise sitting by that midwinter campfire with all the hunters, but I sure do like reading about it.
January 19, 2025
I found this book in my third grade classroom library, and found it again recently on eBay. It is well-suited for a winter read and the multiple perspectives (hunter, hound, fox) connect a realistic story of a human-wild animal relationship. The story feeds on the imagination of how the fox goes about life, which has always been my favorite part.
February 5, 2014
I read and enjoyed most of Kjelgaard's dog/hunter/tracker stories as a kid, but only kept three. Haunt Fox made the cut because it's told almost entirely from the fox's perspective. A great animal-adventure story.
January 29, 2020
Read this book about two years ago, I believe. I really enjoyed it! Not much to say, it's a very solid children's book. Probably not going to captivate a young reader of today, unless they adore hunting or wild animal stories...
I really adored the way the author wrote Star. Yes, it's through an animal's point of view, but the character hasn't been personified. It's just an animal. No complex thoughts, no fancy motives (expect ), just pure survival and instinct like an animal would do all by their lonesome.
It also will shift over to a boy named Jack dealing with...an outbreak with rabies? I don't recall too much about his section. I guess I didn't care as much when his chapters rolled around.
All in all, this was the first book I've read where an animal main character is not personified in any manner while still having a sort of POV following them. Star was a fox, acted like a fox, and did fox things.
All I could ask for. A very lethargic read. (Not in a bad way.)
I really adored the way the author wrote Star. Yes, it's through an animal's point of view, but the character hasn't been personified. It's just an animal. No complex thoughts, no fancy motives (expect ), just pure survival and instinct like an animal would do all by their lonesome.
It also will shift over to a boy named Jack dealing with...an outbreak with rabies? I don't recall too much about his section. I guess I didn't care as much when his chapters rolled around.
All in all, this was the first book I've read where an animal main character is not personified in any manner while still having a sort of POV following them. Star was a fox, acted like a fox, and did fox things.
All I could ask for. A very lethargic read. (Not in a bad way.)
October 25, 2020
The story starts with a very young fox, Star, and his brother travelling together. Right away, we are told that Star's Mother and sisters have been killed by a hunter and their pelts are being stretched, and then his brother gets killed by a wild cat. So, not a happy beginning for Star. We continue to follow Star as he gains a reputation with the area hunters as a "Haunt Fox" because of his mysterious tracks with an extra toe that seem to disappear. One man, Dade Matson, will set as many traps as it takes to take the bounty on Star. Another, a boy Jack and his new hound Thunder want the chance to prove themselves not just worthy, but the best. Star continues to outwit man and hounds alike as he tries to care for his own new family. An ambiguous ending leads us to believe that Star is still out there, providing a good hunt for those who wish to try for him.
February 25, 2025
This story told from the fox and the humans point of views is so well written. My daughter was so caught up in the story and couldn't hardly wait to see what happened next everytime we had to pause our reading. The scenery is so well written and you can just feel what the characters are feeling. Excellent story. I will definitely be reading more of this author's books.
August 18, 2018
This book is a good story that demonstrates good character and good hunting ethics. It is partly told through the voice of the fox and then partly from the point of views of the humans, but in a detached way. It is a fun read.
January 22, 2019
Very engrossing children's book with lots of information about foxes. Suspenseful too. I picked this up at a thrift store as I had read a number of this author's books when I was in elementary school.
June 25, 2018
Since I read this over 50 years ago I don't remember it as it doesn't seem like something I would like- about hunting a fox.
November 22, 2018
I have loved Kjelgaard's books since I was young. Now when I'm older I have a new appreciation for not just a good story but his writing style.
June 1, 2021
It's one of the few books that I'll regularly reread. I love the writing and story so much.
October 11, 2022
Yet another in a long list of fox-centric, wilderness-celebrating xenofiction novels, Kjelgaard’s novel set in rural post-war America fails to break new ground, but will serve as an adequate read for fans of vulpine stories. [6/10]
March 4, 2017
I read his book when I was about 11 years old. Now I'm 33 and I still remember this book. I loved the descriptions of the animals and he way the author put you in the mind of the animal.
August 20, 2011
The first few chapters are alternating, with one focusing on Star (the fox), and then the next one on Jack and his dog Thunder. After that, Star gets a much more prominent role in the book, with only parts of a chapter (or sometimes none at all) focusing on Jack or other humans.
What's also nice is that you sometimes get to read things twice: from Star's point-of-view, and from someone else's. The timelines you read twice are short, it's not like you're reading whole chapters again, so it doesn't get boring.
Since the covers tells you it's about a boy and a dog stalking a fox, I was a bit afraid that humans might have too much attention in the book, but it turned out the other way round.
The story is excellent, both in writing and plot. Unexpected things constantly happen, it feels quite real, and the ending is simply brilliant.
What's also nice is that you sometimes get to read things twice: from Star's point-of-view, and from someone else's. The timelines you read twice are short, it's not like you're reading whole chapters again, so it doesn't get boring.
Since the covers tells you it's about a boy and a dog stalking a fox, I was a bit afraid that humans might have too much attention in the book, but it turned out the other way round.
The story is excellent, both in writing and plot. Unexpected things constantly happen, it feels quite real, and the ending is simply brilliant.
July 29, 2014
This book was the most beautiful book I have ever read. It was my favorite book for a long time, and I have read it over 100 times, at least and would gladly read it again, if I could only get a copy! The story was so true to life and so well spoken that I could see every bit of Star's life as if I were there. This is the style I try to emulate in my own writing. I was so enthralled with the book when I first read it that I even know what day I finished reading it- my 6th birthday, August 14, 1997!
August 22, 2013
One of my favorite Jim Kjelgaard books, mixing the world of the wild with the world of men in equal doses and importance. Dade is an unlovely but realistic character, who lives off the land but contributes nothing to it. The parallel tale of the growing boy and his foxhound, and the fox exacting mischief and revenge, is timelessly enchanting. Glad I rediscovered it in the "Kids Section".
October 9, 2007
Okay, so I was a kid when I read this book. It's about a mysterious fox who haunts the land, blah blah blah. Well, in any case, it's one of the few books I remember from my very young youth. I even made a fox statue for a project out of homemade playdough. Wow. The good old days.
November 3, 2008
Kjelgaard was one of my favorite authors growing up and his books certainly shaped me and my writing. Reading his young adult novels now isn't quite as much fun as it used to be, but he still tells a good story with a lot of good moral lessons included, although not in any preachy kind of way.
March 30, 2009
When I was in middle school I searched for everything written by Jim Kjelgaard. I made my parents scour used book stores for his works that were out of print. I was (and still am) an animal lover. I wanted to be friends with the dogs this author wrote about.
July 28, 2007
This book began my obsession with this author... He writes from the animal's viewpoint. I made Dad drag me up to Waldenbooks in Lincoln Park I dunno how many times to get the books on order.
February 19, 2008
I loved all of Jim Kjelgaard's books when I was a kid.
November 28, 2008
I liked Jim Kjelgaard's book as a kid, and this was probably my favorite. It instilled an early love of stories about chases and hunts and creative escapes.
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March 5, 2009JWAW-Kje
November 27, 2011
Read this book for the firs time when I was just a kid in elementary school. It was one of the first "real" books that I read. I loved it then, and I still love it now.
February 25, 2015
Reviewed for Heartland School.
January 9, 2016
A favorite of Jim Kjelgaard's books
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews