Franziska Biermann

Fox is a book lover, but he also has an insatiable appetite for eating books. The bookworm in all of us can understand what Mr. Fox is going through, and even commiserate with him. However, I think the book lover in us would be appalled with Mr. Fox for gobbling up the books and causing them physical harm.

Mr. Fox’s appetite is so ravenous that he ends up selling everything he owns to buy more books to read and eat. Once he runs out of books and money, he turns to the library and eventually show more the corner bookstore to subdue his hunger. Unfortunately, he does not consider the consequences of his actions at each location and ends up in quite a bit of trouble. Luckily, reading and eating all those books might have given Mr. Fox the fuel he needs to write his way out of the trouble he ends up in.

Overall I enjoyed the story. I love Mr. Fox even though he is a bit of a rascal. Mr. Fox loves everything about books, from their smell to the feel of the pages, and I can totally relate to that sentiment. I’m pretty sure most young readers will enjoy cheering for Mr. Fox to find more books to eat, and for him to cause additional mischief. The author did not shy away from using bigger and harder vocabulary words, which I approve of. This is important as it can lead to a great teaching moment for younger and older readers alike. The illustrations though vivid and bright left were not aesthetically pleasing.

Although the end resolution wasn’t handled in a way I find appropriate for younger readers, I do believe there is plenty of positive messages in this book. There are many themes that can develop into great conversations with young readers. Such as the proper care of books, following library rules and all the places where books can be found. Another great message is to consider the consequences of your actions and the importance of not being greedy. Younger readers might even be inspired to write up their own stories, just like Mr. Fox does. Whether you read it to a group or by yourself, there is plenty of humor to be found in the story. show less

Fox loves to eat books. He actually sprinkles them with salt and pepper. When he runs out of books, he starts eating books from the library and he ends in jail for doing that. He doesn't have access to books in jail, since this is part of his punishment, so he is starving. Fox is in such need of a book, that he writes one in order to eat it later. Thankfully a guard, with great vision for publishing, copies the book before the fox eats it, and the book turns to be a best seller, translated show more to 17 languages, and made into a movie.

The story is funny, and fox is adorable. The illustrations are also wonderful. That said I found the book too long for a pictures book. Fifty six pages is nearly the double of an average picture book, and I wonder if kids would keep their attention on the story for so long.

There was one thing I totally dislike in the book, and it is that at the end Fox is "quietly released from prison, and his criminal record swept under the carpet" because he is now a millionaire author. No way this is a message I want to pass to my kids! I would have rated this book with 4 stars if the resolution were different.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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The Fox Who Ate Books is the story of a fox who loves books so much that he literally devours them. His main source of books is from the library until he is banned by the librarian. After difficulty digesting papers, catalogues and mail flyers from the recycling bins, he decides to rob a bookstore. Unfortunately he is caught, convicted and placed in prison. This would be a good discussion starter on consequences/decision making. Additionally, there are many metaphors that would make great show more examples for Language Arts lessons. show less

Zirkus für alle Sinne: Dieses Bilderbuch widmet jeder Artistengruppe eine Doppelseite. Die Artisten in diesem Zirkus sind jedoch keine gewöhnlichen Artisten, sondern meistens Tiere. So jonglieren die Esel mit Rüben, die gezähmten Krokodile lochen mit ihren scharfen Zähnen die Noten für die Musikkapelle, ein Tintenfisch stellt seine Intelligenz unter Beweis und eine Schlange zeigt ihre unglaubliche Beweglichkeit. Eine Seiltänzerin, wilde Schweine, ein Zauberer und eine Hula-Hoop Dame show more ergänzen dieses skurrile Programm. Freche Verse und witzige Illustrationen sorgen zusätzlich für gute Unterhaltung. Die Hör-CD liefert jeweils die erste Hälfte des Textes jeder Doppelseite gefolgt von ca. 4 Minuten dazu passender Zirkusmusik. All diese Teile regen geradezu an, selber Zirkus zu machen, wozu man auf den letzten Seiten auch noch ganz praktische Tipps findet. Ein ungewöhnliches Buch voller bizarrer, phantasie- und humorvoller Ideen. Wer es gern etwas schräg mag, wird das Buch lieben! Bedingt durch die Versform ist es sprachlich eher anspruchsvoll. Ab 5 Jahren, ***, Patricia Hacker. show less