The Fox Went Out On a Chilly Night

Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night
Peter Spier
Doubleday & Company, 1961

Peter Spier is the children's book king of realism... who can forget the animal dung that Noah has to contend with in Spier's 1977 Noah's Ark? Not for the faint of heart, this one is a veritable blood bath for the poor geese and ducks, but ends well for a family of foxes with full bellies and family love around the fireplace. If you've never seen a fox actually pluck a goose, you're in for a treat.

Then the fox and his wife, without any strife,
cut up the goose with a fork and a knife.
They never ate such a dinner in their life
and the little ones chewed on the
bones-o, bones-o, bones-o.

Spier's books are very detailed and researched, and I especially love the scene where the fox wrestles his catch in the tobacco shed with the leaves hung out to dry from the ceiling. Still in circulation by Dell Yearling, the words are an old song, and a musical arrangement by Burl Ives is printed in the back.

Also by:
The Star-Spangled Banner
Noah's Ark
Peter Spier's Christmas
Gobble Growl Grunt
Rain
Little Bible Storybooks
Bored -- Nothing To Do!