Clyde Watson

When her four children were really as little as the foxes in this story, with three happily oblivious to the mess they created (depicted by the author without sugar coating but with a whole lot of glitter sprinkling and paper scrap strewing) and a baby young enough to fall asleep in the litter — when her children were that little, my daughter found this delightful book too relatable for comfort. But anyone else would love it, including the same daughter, now the mother of children just three or four years older.… (más)

Father Fox, who first appeared in sisters Clyde and Wendy Watson's 1971 Father Fox's Pennyrhymes, returns in this entertaining Christmas picture-book romp, published in 2003. The poetic text describes all of the Fox family's preparations for the holiday, and their celebration of it, concluding with Christmas Day itself, and the presents under the tree...

With a rhyming text that is a pleasure to read aloud - "Here I am, old Father Fox / With sweets in my pocket & holes in my socks / Bringing a basket brimful of cheer / A toy for each day until Christmas is here" - and bright, colorful artwork that captures the sense of cheer and family fun throughout, Father Fox's Christmas Rhymes makes for an entertaining Christmas picture-book. My only quibble - and it is a question solely of form - is with the copious use of the ampersand (&) rather than the word "and" in the text. I can see that this was mostly likely done to save room on the page, and not make the lines too long, but since one reads it as "and" anyway, it felt rather distracting and unnecessary. Leaving that aside, this was a fun little book, once I would recommend to all little foxes at Christmas.… (más)