Perhaps it’s a sign of my generation, but I grew up knowing Roald Dahl only through the films based on his books, not through the books themselves. I’m trying to reverse that trend with my own kids, telling them that we can’t watch one of his movies until we’ve read the book!
The 2009 film version of this book is perhaps among my favorite Dahl adaptations. While I really enjoyed the Gene Wilder adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Danny Devito’s Matilda, Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox hit a special chord for me with its fancy stop-motion style and classy Anderson-infused look. My kids still haven’t seen the film, but it’s now acceptably on our radar.
This book was surprisingly short, the plot surprisingly simple. Three gruff farmers are fed up with the fox who’s always stealing their wares, so they connive to catch him outside his foxhole and end up shooting off his tail when they spot him. They dig after him but realize that they’re always just a step behind. So they choose to sit and wait, to starve him and his brood out. What they don’t realize, though, is that Mr. Fox has found a way to feed himself, his family, and his underground friends in a way that will keep them all happy and satisfied for years to come.
Short. Sweet. Delightful. This is the most innocent Dahl tale we’ve read thus far. There’s still plenty more stories and novels to go during this, our Dahl year, so we all look forward to what magical adventures he’ll take us on next.
©2022 E.T.
Read More from Roald Dahl:
- Adult Short Stories:
Over to You (1946)
Someone Like You (1953)
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (1977) - Children Fiction:
James and the Giant Peach (1961)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964)
The Magic Finger (1964)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (1970)
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (1972)
Danny the Champion of the World (1975)
The Enormous Crocodile (1978)
The Twits (1980)
George’s Marvelous Medicine (1981)
The BFG (1982)
Dirty Beasts (1983)
Boy: Tales of Childhood (1984)
The Giraffe, the Pelly, and Me (1985)
Going Solo (1986)
Matilda (1988)
Esio Trot (1990)
The Minpins (1991)
The Vicar of Nibbleswicke (1991)