Father Fox's Pennyrhymes

by Clyde Watson, Illustrations by Wendy Watson

HarperCollins, August, 2001.
Picture Book, 64 pages.
ISBN: 0060295015
Ages All Ages

Father Fox's Pennyrhymes by Clyde Watson Many of us have wished that we could find the favorite books of our childhood and youth among the shelves of our newest bookstore so that we could share them with our favorite children. Often we have been disappointed because either the story is there but the pictures are not quite right, or the story itself is nowhere to be found. Our own copies which were literally loved to pieces will not seem as special to the new reader. Luckily Harper Collins has republished Father Fox's Pennyrhymes and kept the original drawings. This charming little classic which was first published in 1971 is ready to be enjoyed by a new generation of readers.

The first rhyme introduces us to the fox family. Old Father Fox is asked to sing a song, as the family sits by the fire sipping hot cider. This sets the tone for the lively, and very American feeling of the poems that could all be called at a square dance or be used for skipping rope. There is both sense and nonsense in the rhymes, but happiness springs from all of them. As we follow the happy drawings of all of the busy antics of the many foxes, we are drawn to the delightful details. Father Fox's Pennyrhymes is the kind of book that a younger person can enjoy with an older person, as they both enjoy the rhythm of the rhymes and the humorous details of the illustrations.

--Sarah Reaves White

Father Fox's Pennyrhymes is available for purchase on Amazon.com

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This review was published in the Dec. - Jan., 2002 of The Internet Writing Journal.

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