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Fox and His Friends #7
Fox Be Nimble
Level 3. Over the course of three episodes, Fox babysits rowdy children and ends up on TV, makes a big fuss over a small injury but learns to be brave, and finds a place where he can really show off - in a parade! There are colorful watercolor illustrations throughout.
48 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1990
5 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Edward Marshall
19 books10 followersJames Edward Marshall (October 10, 1942 – October 13, 1992), who also wrote as Edward Marshall, was a children's author and illustrator.
His father worked on the railroad, was a band member in the 1930s, and his mother sang in the local church choir. His family later moved to Beaumont, Texas. Marshall said: "Beaumont is deep south and swampy and I hated it. I knew I would die if I stayed there so I diligently studied the viola, and eventually won a scholarship to the New England Conservatory in Boston."[1] He entered the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, but injured his hand, ending his music career. He returned to Texas, where he attended San Antonio College, and later transferred to Southern Connecticut State University where he received degrees in French and history.
It is said that he discovered his vocation on a 1971 summer afternoon, lying on a hammock drawing. His mother was watching Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and the main characters, George and Martha, ultimately became characters in one of his children's books. Marshall continued as a children's author until his untimely death in 1992 of a brain tumor. In 1998, George and Martha became the basis of an eponymous animated children's television show.
In addition to George and Martha, the lovable hippopotami, James Marshall created dozens of other uniquely appealing characters. He is well-known for his Fox series (which he wrote as "Edward Marshall"), as well as the Miss Nelson books, the Stupids, the Cut-ups, and many more. James Marshall had the uncanny ability to elicit wild delight from readers with relatively little text and simple drawings. With only two minute dots for eyes, his illustrated characters are able to express a wide range of emotion, and produce howls of laughter from both children and adults.
His father worked on the railroad, was a band member in the 1930s, and his mother sang in the local church choir. His family later moved to Beaumont, Texas. Marshall said: "Beaumont is deep south and swampy and I hated it. I knew I would die if I stayed there so I diligently studied the viola, and eventually won a scholarship to the New England Conservatory in Boston."[1] He entered the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, but injured his hand, ending his music career. He returned to Texas, where he attended San Antonio College, and later transferred to Southern Connecticut State University where he received degrees in French and history.
It is said that he discovered his vocation on a 1971 summer afternoon, lying on a hammock drawing. His mother was watching Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and the main characters, George and Martha, ultimately became characters in one of his children's books. Marshall continued as a children's author until his untimely death in 1992 of a brain tumor. In 1998, George and Martha became the basis of an eponymous animated children's television show.
In addition to George and Martha, the lovable hippopotami, James Marshall created dozens of other uniquely appealing characters. He is well-known for his Fox series (which he wrote as "Edward Marshall"), as well as the Miss Nelson books, the Stupids, the Cut-ups, and many more. James Marshall had the uncanny ability to elicit wild delight from readers with relatively little text and simple drawings. With only two minute dots for eyes, his illustrated characters are able to express a wide range of emotion, and produce howls of laughter from both children and adults.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 19, 2016
Another of my granddaughter's current favorites. Funny!
June 28, 2020
3.5 - 4 stars
February 18, 2016
Hated Fox's attitude.
March 19, 2020
Fox is nimble, Fox is slick, Fox is rockin for the chicks! This book by James Marshall is a three in one that kids will breeze thru in minutes and enjoy for as long as they want. A fox named Fox (duh!) has fantasies about being a rock star, and why not. His mommy foxy is a (say it) Foxy Lady, and who does little fox like to dress as before jamming on his guitar/broom? None other than Foxy Jimi Hendrix, naturally! But Fox's misadventures and slapstick-cool slipups have thus far made him a legend for all the wrong reasons. Fox is asked to babysit the Ling bear kids, who run amok as cuddly bears in kids books do, and get "carried away" when they get access to a set of helium balloons and float off. Fox tries to rescue them, and somehow the TV news crew have THEM rescuing HIM from falling into a deep pool! Poor Foxy! Fox can't seem to get the groove right, until a close friend, a female white fox named Raisin (why Raisin, I ain't sure, since raisins are chewy fruits and...eh, what do I know?) anyway, when Raisin introduces him to baton twirling, and with practice, Foxy is actually good at it, and ends up part of a marching band. Not exactly heavy metal, but in a few years that could change. Fox in this book is the animal version of Dennis the Menace, since both are trouble makers, and both have heart and soul. Only Fox, though, gets to Rock and roll!!!
Four stars
Fox of AGES!!!! (For all ages!!!)
Four stars
Fox of AGES!!!! (For all ages!!!)
February 6, 2018
My second graders find this book to be very funny!
March 17, 2018
What a funny fox! And even though he gives his mother a run for her money, he certainly does listen to her (in the end).
December 31, 2018
2.5 stars
November 27, 2019
In three stories about Fox, he will: have a babysitting mishap, see that his little sister is tougher than him, and find the perfect place to show off.
January 3, 2023
In the first story, Fox becomes famous in an infamous manner! In Fox the Brave, his bravery is in question. Fox achieves some noterity in Fox on Parade. Quick, easy book filled with humor!
June 4, 2024
This installment was funny. Love Fox and his shenanigans.
May 9, 2015
personal reaction:
Honestly, when I checked this book out, I was in a huge hurry and didn’t even skim through it. Once I got home I read it and was super surprised. It was actually really funny! Even though it’s considered an easy-to-read book, a lot of humor can be found in it! Fox’s character is so cute and quirky. The illustrations are awesome too. I’m a big fan of watercolors as a medium, so i’m a bit biased. But overall, I was really glad I ended up picking this book up!!
read aloud:
Since this book is comprised of three different stories, I would choose to read one story per day. An interactive activity to do in a first or second grade classroom after finishing the third story would be to compare and contrast all three stories. I would split the class into three groups and assign each of them one of fox’s stories. Together, students could come up with a list of character traits, themes, etc that they find in the story. After that, students could come up to the board and fill in a venn diagram to see what similarities and differences the three stories have!
independent reading:
This would be an awesome book for any first or second grader that are beginning to read more advanced books. Fox Be Nimble is not quite a chapter book, but it’s more advanced than say a picture book. There are pictures on almost every page that directly correlate with the text, making it easy for readers to follow along and stay interested!
narrative:
Something I think this book could be useful in teaching is setting and characterization. You could introduce setting by discussing with students all of the different settings that Fox is in such as the Lings' house, his own home, the band room, and the parade. This is a great book to introduce setting because it is so easily identifiable. Characterization could also be introduced through this book by discussing Fox’s direct and indirect characterization. An example of indirect characterization would be Fox saying “I’m dying!” after scratching his knee. We now know that Fox can be slightly dramatic sometimes. Whereas direct characterization would be Fox saying “But I like showing off!”, which directly states what Fox likes without us having to infer.
Honestly, when I checked this book out, I was in a huge hurry and didn’t even skim through it. Once I got home I read it and was super surprised. It was actually really funny! Even though it’s considered an easy-to-read book, a lot of humor can be found in it! Fox’s character is so cute and quirky. The illustrations are awesome too. I’m a big fan of watercolors as a medium, so i’m a bit biased. But overall, I was really glad I ended up picking this book up!!
read aloud:
Since this book is comprised of three different stories, I would choose to read one story per day. An interactive activity to do in a first or second grade classroom after finishing the third story would be to compare and contrast all three stories. I would split the class into three groups and assign each of them one of fox’s stories. Together, students could come up with a list of character traits, themes, etc that they find in the story. After that, students could come up to the board and fill in a venn diagram to see what similarities and differences the three stories have!
independent reading:
This would be an awesome book for any first or second grader that are beginning to read more advanced books. Fox Be Nimble is not quite a chapter book, but it’s more advanced than say a picture book. There are pictures on almost every page that directly correlate with the text, making it easy for readers to follow along and stay interested!
narrative:
Something I think this book could be useful in teaching is setting and characterization. You could introduce setting by discussing with students all of the different settings that Fox is in such as the Lings' house, his own home, the band room, and the parade. This is a great book to introduce setting because it is so easily identifiable. Characterization could also be introduced through this book by discussing Fox’s direct and indirect characterization. An example of indirect characterization would be Fox saying “I’m dying!” after scratching his knee. We now know that Fox can be slightly dramatic sometimes. Whereas direct characterization would be Fox saying “But I like showing off!”, which directly states what Fox likes without us having to infer.
December 12, 2007
A big hit as a read-aloud story with my kids when they were in the 3-5 year old range.
February 25, 2008
As much as we love the George and Martha books, by the same author, we *adore* Fox. He is the silliest fox you'll ever meet. My kids loved learning to read with Fox.
September 4, 2010
This books was so funny! Easy to use different voices to make it even more interesting. Read it aloud! More words but still many pictures.
January 27, 2012
This made my son laugh out loud.
September 14, 2013
Fox is cunning. Louise is naive. Fox can make people laughing. Louise can do it, too.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews