A Pig, a Fox, and a Box

Pig & Fox #1

by Jonathan Fenske

Jonathan Fenske tells three humorous stories of two friends, Pig and Fox, and their shenanigans with a cardboard box (all of which involved Pig accidentally crushing Fox in the box). With comic art and simple language, this Level 2 reader is sure to have kids rolling with laughter.

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Childrens, Animals, Friendship, Fiction, Kids

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 16, 2015

About the author

Jonathan Fenske is the author and illustrator of the leveled readers Woodward and McTwee, Love Is in the Air, Guppy Up!, and A Pig, a Fox, and a Box, which was a 2016 Geisel Honor book. He is also the author of two picture books, Barnacle Is Bored and its follow-up, Plankton Is Pushy. Jonathan lives in South Carolina with his family.

Reviews

[Cheryl Gladfelter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually laughed out loud while reading this. So great!

[Natalie Pietro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am so proud of Gino for reading this whole book to us. He was very excited to know every word. Great easy book for the beginner reader.

[Patience · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny and cute!

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a 2016 Geisel Honor title. It well deserves it. It is very simple in terms of vocabulary but with a fairly complicated story line. A fox too clever for his own good combined with a patient kind pig who only shows some frustration at one point, nothing harsher than that. Of course, all ends reasonably well, with them still friends. However, it does also show logical consequences in the final few illustrations of Fox. I'm glad to see a Geisel that is in regular reader format rather than picture book format.

[Cheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing like Mo Willems. More like 'Cat on a Mat' for fans of the Three Stooges. Way more detail in the drawings, which Willems doesn't need because he's got talent. Stilted prose. No detail in the typeface, which Willems doesn't need but effectively plays with. Way less affection, wit, and wisdom. Stupid pig keeps committing grave harm against almost as stupid but also 'accident-prone' fox.

If your child loves this, watch out for the possibility that he develops an interest in pulling the wings off flies and bullying smaller children.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geisel Award 2016 Honor

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and silly, but I really felt bad for the fox as he was crushed.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the repetition and humor. I can't wait to share this one with my family!

***Read with my kiddos today. It was a hit***

[Lisa McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kid reviews:
3yo: the fox says woa!
5yo: A fox really got squished? Find out in this book!
7yo:Would pig figure out where fox is? Read A Pig a Fox And a Box.
9yo: What will happen to pig and what will happen to fox? I would also connect this to the boy who cried wolf.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed through this entire book. A+

[Maggie Cook · Rating 2 out of 5]

Title: A Pig, A Fox, and A Box

Author: Jonathan Fenske

Illustrator: Jonathan Fenske

Type of Book (format and literary genre): Progressing Reader (Guided Reader level H)/ Fiction

Awards the book has received (national): Theodore Seuss Geisel Honor Book

Short original summary of the main plot, describe the content and themes of the book: Fox is constantly trying to trick Pig. However, his plans always back fire on him. Fox tries to trick Pig by hiding in a box and jumping out and scaring him. But Pig sits on the box, not realizing Fox is inside of it. The box collapses and squishes Fox. By the end of the book Fox learns his lesson that trying to trick others and play games on them often backfires.

Critique the book backed by one reason: The book does not use very much challenging vocabulary. Instead it sticks to very simple vocabulary using short sentences like “I look around” and “So I will sit on this small box”. While this book is good for beginning readers and it’s use of repetition is good for beginning readers, the text would be more beneficial if it incorporated a few more challenging words.

Prompts or questions you could pose when reading the book aloud to children:
1.Why do you think that Fox is trying to trick Pig?
2.Does Pig fall for Fox’s tricks?
3.What happens every time Fox tries to trick Pig? Do his tricks work?
4.What lesson do you think Fox learned by the end of the story?

Craft elements of the book that could be addressed in a reading or writing lesson: The book teaches a moral. For a writing lesson you could have students think about a moral or lesson they learned from their parents, or grandparents or teacher. They would then create their own fictional narrative teaching this moral or lesson to their classmates. It would be a lot like Aesop’s Fables.

[Ilana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I expected more humour and fun from this book, and it was not only me. My 4yo wasn´t too impressed about the book either, both in terms of the writing and the illustrations. However, one can learn a little bit from the book, for instance about various hierarchies - ´I am little´/`I am big` - eventually some jokes you can - or better can´t - do among friends. Overall though it is not the kind of book to be repeatedly requested to read again and again.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fox is little, the pig is big and they are friends. But the fox likes to play tricks which always seem to backfire. This early reader has simple words, funny illustrations and a great storyline.

Cross posted to http://kissthebook.blogspot.com CHECK IT OUT!

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great addition to the easy-reader world. The humor and friendship between Pig and Fox will make this a hit with fans of Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie books.

[Benji Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant pick by the Geisel committee. A very hilarious book.

[H. Givens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute art, catchy rhymes and a funny story!

[I _teach_muggles · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is not often that I recommend a levelled book as I’m a big believer that children should have freedom of choice when it comes to book selection and should not be confined by colours, bands or levelled books. However, I am willing to make an exception for A Pig, a Fox and a Box.

“I am Fox. I am Pig. I am little. A am big.” Despite their differences, Pig and Fox love to hang out and play together. Today, Fox has a box and is looking forward to playing some tricks on Pig. But when his plans go somewhat awry, will Fox still want to play tricks with his box on Pig…

A Pig, a Fox and a Box is a funny read about the antics of another animal duo that will appeal to fans of the Mo Willems books Elephant & Piggie. The escapades of Fox and Pig are told over three short stories that invariably see Fox getting his comeuppance as his pranks backfire on him. By the time the third story is told, a battered, bruised and bandaged Fox has decided that he has had enough of playing for today.

Told entirely through rhyming dialogue, the simple word choices and repetitive phrasing supports language development. Colour coded speech bubbles help readers follow who is talking and the large and clear illustrations convey much of the humour.

Recommended for 5+.

[Madison Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Picture Book (Easy-to-Read)
Awards: Geisel Honor Book
Audience: 2nd grade
A. I know that this is an easy-to-read book because it won the Geisel Honor and that is only given to easy-to-read books. I also know that this is an easy-to-read book because it is leveled. The writing in the book is made up primarily of sight words making it easy for young readers.
B. One element that is used in the pictures is line. Lines are used in this book to show movement between the character and objects in the story. As you read, you will see lots of diagonal lines. Almost all of the lines are straight which gives the book a very cartoonish feel.
C. I would use this book in small groups, give it to students for independent reading, or use it in reader's theatre. I would have my students practice fluency by reading the story over multiple times.
D. Which animal is bigger?
Answer: Pig is the bigger animal.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A Pig, a Fox, and a Box" by Jonathan Fenske is a children's book that is separated into three parts, similar to chapters. The two characters, Fox and Pig, are friends but readers quickly learn that Fox likes to play games and pranks on Pig. Fox begins by trying to prank Pig when he climbs into a box, then in the second part, Fox tries to prank Pig into thinking that he is stuck underneath a pile of rocks. By the third part of the story, Fox doesn't want to play his pranks and games anymore because they keep backfiring on him and he keeps getting squished and pummeled with rocks. This book shows children that having fun and playing games can sometimes be a bad thing. It also shows children the importance of learning when to stop and where the line is drawn. The pictures, though they have a great deal of blank or empty space, still manage to be colorful and maintain focus of the characters and the story line.

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Pig, A Fox, and a Box is a picture book for beginning readers. This book could best be utilized by kindergarten and 1st graders. The plot of the story is about two friends who are Pig and Fox. During the story Fox plays all of these tricks on Pig and Pig always falls for it. However, Fox’s plans start of backfire on him. This book provides some comedy and also gives a large about of rhyming with small learning words. Furthermore, the amount of rhyming and repetition would be great for young readers because they are able to predict what is going to come next and its nice for differentiating words that sound similar. I think that for a beginners book this is a great choice and kids will like the tricks that Fox plays on Pig. Furthermore, you may be able to fit this book into an easy readers category rather than with the animals category because of how fictional the characters act.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was funnier than the previous book I read about the stinky socks. Fox thinks he’s going to play a trick on his friend pig but it doesn’t work out how he plans, so he going to try to trick him again. In this book, Foxes tricks have to do with a box. He first decides to hide in it but Pig sits on it, and well, you can imagine how that goes. The second part of this book, Fox hides in the box just so he can watch Pig while he plays another trick on him but this doesn’t work out so well for Fox. In the last part of this book, Fox just gives up. This is a funny, silly story that beginner readers will enjoy as it’s repetitive in parts with limited vocabulary using sight words. Like a graphic novel, the story is easy to follow in text boxes with bright bold print with text bubbles above the characters and the pictures are bright and colorful. A great story! 5 stars

[Cindy Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Pig, a Fox, and a Box is one of 2016 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award honor books. The words on the page are simple for any beginning reader to read. There are many word families and sight words that young children are very familiar with (big, pig, wig, fox, box, little, like, have) The book is broken up into 3 small parts and was a very quick read. It revolves around fox and him trying to trick his friend pig. Unfortunately for fox, it does not work and ends up in a bad situation each time. I thought it was funny, my type of humor. Similar to Jon Klassen's I Want My Hat Back. If you have ever read that book and did not enjoy it, I don't believe you will enjoy this one either. Overall, definitely going to show this to my students as an independent reader for them to enjoy!

[Carly Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be enjoyed by many children. It is funny and the fox is sneaky during the entire book. I think it was well-written for the age-level of 4 to 7 years old. It was kind of a like a comic and it reminded me of the cartoon Tom and Jerry. The fox likes to pull many tricks on the pig with a box, and it was sneaky, but hilarious. I am sure any kid that reads this would enjoy it because it is funny and it involves animals which many kids, especially my students enjoy. There was not many illustrations to this because it was simply just a pig, a fox, and a box drawn on the pages, and on one of them there was some rocks. I liked that it was simple though because this could be a great book for a beginning reader.
(book selection assignment)

[Lauren Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

For beginning readers, this is a great book! The short sentences with simple sight words make for young readers to easily begin to learn to read from this book. The text is told through the text boxes of each character within the story. In addition, the story shows the expressions of the pig and the fox very well. When the pile of rocks is stacked on top of the fox, readers can easily tell the concern of the pig and the fox. In addition, there is humor when the big originally finds a wig under the rocks. The illustrations do a great job of showing the expressions and characteristics of each character. The book is broken into three parts making it easy for readers to return to the book at a later date. A great humorous story to engage to help young readers learn to read

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

What grabs my interest right from the front cover? Take a look, Goodreaders, at that pig and that fox. Both of them look so very INTELLIGENT. Of course, there will be shenanigans.

Sure enough, this zany picture book does not disappoint.

Simple but universal are the sentiments expressed by the two main characters. For instance:

Pig laments:

"That sneaky Fox.
He is so bad.

He likes to play.
He makes me mad."

FIVE STARS of gratitude and respect to Jonathan Fenske, author and illustrator.

[Annie DeLuco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made up of 3 short stories that go back to back were so cute! The rhyming throughout the whole book was so catchy. I loved how the fox tried to be tricky but just ended up getting hurt every time. This silly story is sure to make some kids giggle. I loved how the text was strictly word bubbles, so there was only speck going on, and not any background thoughts or information. The illustrations were also so cute too!

[Sydney Ossege · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book actually makes me laugh so hard, unlike any other book. The way that the author decided to have a pig and a fox be friends that decide to play with a box is quite humorous. The simple vocabulary that is being used is perfect for young readers who are in Level 2 reading especially with the illustrations that are involved. I can only imagine the children reading this book laughing out loud and loving the story line!

[Dominic Cheffo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very fun way to explore rhyming words and defiantly deserves the Geisel award. It has some fun stories about a fox who tries to trick a pig but it doesn't exactly go his way. It is a funny book for children to read, the best part is it is super easy. Children won't strain themselves thinking of a moral or fumbling over words they will be able to relax and enjoy the book. Sometimes this is the best type of reading for children.

[Britten Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only is this a great book for young students to read when introducing the topic of poetry, it is also the perfect book for a progressive reader! When a progressive reader reads this book, they should be able to figure out unknown words by using context clues, as well as recognize beginning, middle, and end sounds. This could also be a great book to read to a student who is struggling with rhyming.

[Kaitlyn Carsone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fox wants to play hide and seek. He hides from pig in a box. Pig sits on the box and smooshed fox. The next day, Fox is hurt. He still wants to play and hide. Fox, once again, gets smooshed, this time by rocks. Fox decides he has had enough and stops trying to trick pig. This book rhymed and flowed well. This book would be a great decodable text. The rhyming words would help the reader pick apart and recognize words with the same rimes. Such as b-ig and p-ig and f-ox and b-ox.