Little Red Fox

by Alison Uttley

Little Red Fox was all alone in the great wood when kind Mr and Mrs Badger decided to adopt him and bring him up with their own two children, Bill and Bonny. Of course, he was very happy to have such a good safe home, even if it meant having baths and strange things to eat, but he found it hard to be as good as the little Badgers, and then too there was the danger of the Wicked Uncle who wanted to kidnap him.

Genres: Childrens, Animals

92 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

About the author

Alison Uttley (17 December 1884 – 7 May 1976), née Alice Jane Taylor, was a prolific British writer of over 100 books. She is now best known for her children's series about Little Grey Rabbit, and Sam Pig.

For more information, please see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alison_U...

http://www.answers.com/topic/alison-u...

Reviews

[Capn · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Rufus! Beware! There's danger in the woods.'
Little Red Fox was all alone in the great wood when kind Mr and Mrs Badger decided to adopt him. He was very happy living with the badger family and playing with Bill and Bonny, the badger children. Then one day there was danger in the air. Little Red Fox's wicked Uncle was on the prowl!

Aww, quite the adorable hedgerow story (or stories - it's in two halves, Little Red Fox and the Wicked Uncle, and Little Red Fox and the Magic Moon), but atypical in that there is a hint of magic here and there, for example sycamore keys (maple keys to me) being able to act as skeleton keys if you know the spell, water nymphs catching reflected water stars and shards of 'moonshine' (glints of moonlight on the water made material), cheeky singing fish, and the swan's magic silver crown (effects not really expanded upon).

Rufus is a naughty anti-hero, in the same vein as Peter Rabbit, and manages to have you rooting for his success.

The drawings are adorable (as expected from Uttley) as well, receiving plenty of enthusiastic "awwwwws". The evil uncle fox was a bit scary, and I especially appreciated all the riparian ornithological content (pied wagtails, herons, kingfishers, dippers, willow-warblers) and their sketches. :)

[Elizabeth Lefebvre · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had this on cassette when I was wee. Listened to it dozens of times around age 4, 5, 6... I give it 5 stars because of how much I loved it as a little girl. want to find an e-copy somewhere, somehow!

[Kate]

Had this as a cassette tape as a kid. Listened to it so many times. I've got to get my hands on this book.

[Anne Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little fox is an orphan found under a gorse bush and taken in by kindly Mrs Badger (whose husband is dubious but keeps commenting she knows best) and given the name Rufus. He plays with the badger children, Bonny and Bill, and wants to make friends with a stately swan. She is far more dubious than Mr Badger.

Rufus, by his own admission, likes danger. And he's about to encounter plenty when his wicked uncle tries to trap the swan.

There are two charming animal stories in this small book.

[Lizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember the stories from when I was the right age to read them, they stood up surprisingly well when I read them yesterday...(apart from the diet of the badgers.)
For some reason I really remember the brass buttons and the blue coat.

[Wadeea · Rating 5 out of 5]

الثلاثاء
٢ يونيو ٢٠٢٦م
٤:٠٥ صباحًا
🦊

[Emkoshka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bless the British for their anthropomorphised animals, in this case foxes, badgers, birds and fish. This is a cute and quick read, featuring a fox cub with spunk: 'I likes danger. It tastes good'. He's like the foxy version of Peter Rabbit, right down to the little blue jacket. But where Peter is dopey, Little Red is vibrant. Adorable illustrations.

[Valerie Brett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable but forgettable