Fantastic Mr. Fox
(Libby/OverDrive eBook, Kindle)

In many ways, this slight book has all the hallmarks of a Dahl classic: questionable morals, extravagant food, and three outwardly and inwardly gruesome bad guys. Mr. Fox and his family live comfortably underground, emerging only to steal food from the stores of the three bad-tempered local farmers. Fat Boggis keeps chicken, short Bunce has ducks and geese, and lean Bean farms turkey and apples, while brewing strong cider. When the three nasty farmers decide that they've had enough of the foxes' thievery, they decide to end things once and for all, staking out Mr. Fox's hole with guns loaded. Trapped underground, the foxes and their many animal neighbors find themselves slowly starving to death, until Mr. Fox, ever fantastic, has a burst of inspiration that will save his family and friends and trick the farmers all in one. While some of us may remember this from childhood as a clever, high-stakes romp, it's really more of a one-note fable fun and peppered with delightful one-liners to be sure, but lacking the depth and heart of some of Dahl's more enduring works. Still, whether it's read as an intro to Dahl (perhaps after a viewing of the Wes Anderson movie adaption) or as a nostalgic return to an old favorite, there's a reason this one has stuck around so long.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2016 Booklist

Quentin Blake's angular, active artwork illustrates this edition, which includes an interview with Dahl. The satisfying, if unsubtle, story is a classic triumph of the underdog, er, underground animals, led by Mr. Fox to dig a deep burrow so well-supplied by the stores of their enemies, Farmers Bean, Boggis, and Bunce, that they'll never have to go aboveground again. From HORN BOOK Spring 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In many ways, this slight book has all the hallmarks of a Dahl classic: questionable morals, extravagant food, and three outwardly and inwardly gruesome bad guys. Mr. Fox and his family live comfortably underground, emerging only to steal food from the stores of the three bad-tempered local farmers. Fat Boggis keeps chicken, short Bunce has ducks and geese, and lean Bean farms turkey and apples, while brewing strong cider. When the three nasty farmers decide that they've had enough of the foxes' thievery, they decide to end things once and for all, staking out Mr. Fox's hole with guns loaded. Trapped underground, the foxes and their many animal neighbors find themselves slowly starving to death, until Mr. Fox, ever fantastic, has a burst of inspiration that will save his family and friends and trick the farmers all in one. While some of us may remember this from childhood as a clever, high-stakes romp, it's really more of a one-note fable—fun and peppered with delightful one-liners to be sure, but lacking the depth and heart of some of Dahl's more enduring works. Still, whether it's read as an intro to Dahl (perhaps after a viewing of the Wes Anderson movie adaption) or as a nostalgic return to an old favorite, there's a reason this one has stuck around so long. Copyright 2016 Booklist Reviews.