Little Foxes

by Michael Morpurgo, Tom Hartley (Illustrator)

A spellbinding animal story from War Horse author and former Children's Laureate, Michael Morpurgo. Bullied at school, nagged in Aunty May's tenth-floor council flat, there's only one place ten-year-old Billy really feels alive – in the wilderness by the canal. There he watches a cygnet on the water and protects a family of fox cubs. Then his secret place is discovered and the fox family decimated. Unwanted and unloved, Billy and the last fox run for their lives … A gripping and poignant animal adventure from the master storyteller of An Eagle in the Snow, Listen to the Moon, Shadow, and An Elephant in the Garden. ––– Former Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo needs no introduction. He is one of the most successful children's authors in the country, loved by children, teachers and parents alike. Michael has written more than forty books for children including the global hit War Horse, which was made into a Hollywood film by Steven Spielberg in 2011. Several of his other stories have been adapted for screen and stage, including My Friend Walter, Why the Whales Came and Kensuke's Kingdom. Michael has won the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Award, the Circle of Gold Award, the Children's Book Award and has been short-listed for the Carnegie Medal four times. He started the charity Farms for City Children in 1976 with his wife, Clare, aimed at relieving the “poverty of experience… many young children feel in inner city and urban areas. Michael is also a patron of over a dozen other charities. Living in Devon, listening to Mozart and working with children have provided Michael with the ideas and incentive to write his stories. He spends half his life mucking out sheds with the children, feeding sheep or milking cows; the other half he spends dreaming up and writing stories for children. "For me, the greater part of writing is daydreaming, dreaming the dream of my story until it hatches out – the writing down of it I always find hard. But I love finishing it, then holding the book in my hand and sharing my dream with my readers." Michael received an OBE in December 2006 for his services to literature. Michael Morpurgo's book 'There Once is a Queen' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 06-06-2022.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Adventure, Animals, Coming Of Age, Middle Grade, Short Stories

208 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1987

About the author

Sir Michael Andrew Morpurgo, OBE, FRSL is the author of many books for children, five of which have been made into films. He also writes his own screenplays and libretti for opera. Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1943, he was evacuated to Cumberland during the last years of the Second World War, then returned to London, moving later to Essex. After a brief and unsuccessful spell in the army, he took up teaching and started to write. He left teaching after ten years in order to set up 'Farms for City Children' with his wife. They have three farms in Devon, Wales and Gloucestershire, open to inner city school children who come to stay and work with the animals. In 1999 this work was publicly recognised when he and his wife were invested a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to youth. In 2003, he was advanced to an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) in 2004. He was knighted in the 2018 for his services to literature and charity. He is also a father and grandfather, so children have always played a large part in his life. Every year he and his family spend time in the Scilly Isles, the setting for three of his books.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yet another very creative piece of children's fiction, mainly focusing on the relationships and struggles of an orphan, and an orphan fox he helps. This one doesn't resonate as well as most of his work. 5 out of 12., Two Stars read.
A review only re-shared to re-share this cute GiF :)

2015 read

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a cute (and sad) quick read! I loved this book and loved the bond Billy made with the little furry friend.

[Lara Vehar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an all right short read.

A boy named Billy is shuffled around various foster homes. He never stays for long. He has stuttering problems until one day, he meets a swan and he saves it and whilst he talks to it he stops stuttering.

He eventually comes across a family of foxes- a vixen and four cubs. The vixen is later killed by a car and he buries it and promises that he will take care of the cubs for her.

They are seen as vermin though and they are gassed and killed- all but one die. So he takes the remaining fox and tries to take it back to his foster home. His foster mother however tells him that if he wants to keep that fox he must leave.

They go on a run through the countryside, avoiding humans until they meet a man on a boat.
He eventually releases the fox and gets a new home, this time it's permament. He ends up living with that man and his wife because they just lost a son that was similar age to him.


There are a lot of lessons in this book -about taking care of nature, trusting people and knowing when it's time to let go and that wild animals can never be pets no matter how hard we try.


It's a lovely short book about nature and bonds that can form between humans and animals.

[15PinderF · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing, loved the start but found it quite sad in the middle but found it entertaining otherwise.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the Michael Murpurgo book I didn't much intriguing, the plot in the end seems rushed it's almost as if the author tried to compress a chunk of twist into 1-2 pages. I like how Billy became friends with an unlikely creature, I like how I was in the wood myself as I read this book.

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Billy's heart-warming story. Such a lovely read!

[Klare · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely animal story, the main characters in this one are Billy and his pet fox.

[PageTurners; · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished it in 2 hours. Def recommended. Love it so much… also pro tip: watch Kraven: The Hunter (on Netflix) after u read this.

7.0 ⭐️

[Jayne Hood · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a wonderful heartwarming story of a bond of friendship between a boy and a fox.

[Lora · Rating 3 out of 5]

My 8 year old loves foxes and wants to read every book available to him that have foxes as the main focus. He liked this book because it does deal with foxes, and he liked that the boy found a home at the end, but he said he has liked other books better. I thought it could have been more in depth and in general I like Michael Morgpurgo, but I wouldn't put this book in one of his best. It did have good elements of how we can find out more about ourselves and where we belong when we connect with something outside of ourselves (i.e. nature and wild animals). I love the fact that the character never was loved in his short life, but still the story showed his capacity and need for it and that love of the wild things is what eventually helped him bloom and find a real home.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice enough story. A boy with a stutter, used to being shuffled between foster homes, discovers happiness in the animals of the Wilderness. There were some things that were quirky and charming, but the pacing throughout the middle was a little slow. Overall, a sweet story with a satisfying conclusion.

[aarja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartwarming !

[Simi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know whether I should give this 3 or 3.5 stars. I did like the storyline and the characters buuuut I don't know, it was a lil dull. Most Morpurgo books are lovely stories but they always seem to be missing a bit of spark.

Most of the characters were very average. Billy... well he didn't actually say much. I felt sorry for him, but he did feel a bit like a smol expressionless twig. I mean, he was definitely passionate about nature and I loved his relationship with the swan and then the fox, but other than that, he was about as intriguing as a rock. A cute rock though!!

I know Joe was a total babe and all but Billy literally just walked onto his barge with almost no hesitation, like the guy could kill you? Take you to the police? Feed you to his swans?? But Billy was so chill with it?? I thought you were being really cautious about strangers, Billy?? Hmmm?

Also the endingggg aww 'twas cute. But the fox... I didn't cry, obviously, I never cry in books... at all... definitely... but the fox gave me a smidgen of feels.

Not the most thrilling of books, but a cute, light read. I love a good Morpurgo book. Animal appreciation for the win.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another heartwarming and wholesome read.

Billy Bunch was found orphaned as a baby and since then he has been flitting through Foster homes to children's homes, never fully understanding or receiving any form of love. Then one day when he sneaks in the Wildness, he rescues a Swan from being stoned by kids. He kept returning to check on the Swan until one day, he stumbles upon a fox den. He becomes fascinated with the little fox family until tragedy happens and he to show what family and love truly means.

This was just a lovely, but also sad read. I loved imagery of the Swan acting as a guardian angel, always keeping a watch over Billy no matter where he went. The ending was just wholesome and I was glad Billy finally got his happy ending.

[Juliette Kidd · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I always like about Morpurgo books are they are a combination of sad, happy and sometimes a little scary. This one was about a boy called Billy Bunch who is left outside a policestation as a baby orphan (sad), goes to live with an awful auntie (sad and a bit scary!) but he prefers to live in the wilderness (exciting!) and takes on himself to look after 4 foxes when their mothers dies (sad again, but beautiful how he looks after the foxes). Don't worry there are happy bits, not all sad. My daddy liked it because its the ideal bedtime story, focuses the concentration and helps to gets calm and sleepy.

[Noora Alsuwaidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beginning of this story is what catches you and forces to keep reading about the little boy named Billy Bunch.
Billy Bunch wasn't the luckiest boy and it seemed that life always put him through hardships, with no one to really love him and care about him.
Until he finds hope and comfort in dealing with the animal kingdom, starting from a baby swan and finishing with a family of foxes.

The story is heartwarming and teaches lots of lessons and holds lots of morals.

The ending was really satisfactory and I always love a happy ending.

This light read and moving adventure is suitable for all ages...

[Darlene Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story for children and adults, about the healing effects of nature. A foundling spends the first years of his life in various foster homes, feeling unloved and unable, or unwilling, to talk. His meeting with a swan and later a fox family shows him what it's like to love. But, humans can be mean to those who are different and to unwanted animals. After some difficulties, Billy learns how to love and how to let go. This is a story that will tug at your heartstrings.

[Mike Booth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet little story. It's a bit tamer than some of the more outlandish Morpurgo stories, but is more believable because of it, and maybe more relatable too. The title didn't exactly fill me with excitement as it sounds fairly twee, but it was better than I expected. It's got some hardship as usual in his work, but it's got a nice ending, with a hint of bittersweet.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another lovely and touching story from an ever reliable writer.

Although written for younger readers this book still tackles such topics as baby abandonment, failure of the care system, loss of a child by drowning, animal cruelty and environmental damage in an understandable way without talking down.

[Claire Joicey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet story, and contains a very important central message, particularly for those of us who are animal lovers.
However, when you read a Michael Morpurgo, you always know what you’re going to get - the restorative power of animals, the unexpected joy of the countryside etc, which, as wonderful themes as they are, makes each book feel a little formulaic.

[Thistle · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first 10% of the book was only about an orphan and how hard his life was, nothing about nature or animals at all.

It was first published in 1987, but it read like it was from the 1950s. It was a really short book, it would have taken me maybe three hours to read, but it just didn't interest me enough to keep going.

DNF

[Skye Heaton-heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I re-read this charming tale having read it as a very young child. A simple story of an outcast boy and the friends he makes in the 'wilderness'. I highly recommend this book for young children to encourage walks in nature and a healthy respect for the natural world.

[Amy Hutchinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a reread for me and I'm so glad I did. It is beautiful and heartbreaking and heartwarming. This was also the first book I read properly as an independent reader so it felt so nostalgic to me. Loved every second of this stunning book

[Lilli Gilliam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't find the edition of the book I have, so I went with the cutest cover :)
Anyways, this book combines suspense, surprise, and a few tears in this sad but uplifting story about friendship and survival.

[Raven Audrey Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very cute (and sad) story that I personally think has a lot of hidden meanings. It is a children’s book, even though I’m a teenager I enjoyed this book a lot and would recommend this book to anyone who wants a short and sweet story to read!

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a excellent book, and it gripped me from the start to the end. My favourite character was the oldest fox because I really like foxes. The age recommendation I would give this book is 8+ because it is very sad. I would recommend this book to any animal lovers.

[molly williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy but forgettable middle school read with a really convenient ending. Loved the lesson about wild creatures staying wild and Michael Morpurgo stays one of the writes that helps prevent a reading slump.

[Discoverylover · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is my favourite of the 4 I've read in this lot. It did make me sniffle a little!

[Meg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is so cute! I love the symbolism and I just love the last chapter so much!

[Booknerd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sorry but I didn't really like but,I would read it again.