Hattie and the Fox

by Mem Fox, Patricia Mullins (Illustrator)

Hattie knows she sees something scary in the bushes, but nobody is paying attention. Not the goose, not the pig, not the sheep, not the horse, not the cow. Time and again Hattie tries to warn her friends of danger, but no one listens -- until it's almost too late!

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Storytime, Birds, 1st Grade

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Merrion Frances Fox is an Australian writer of children's books and an educationalist specialising in literacy. Fox has been semi-retired since 1996, but she still gives seminars and lives in Adelaide, South Australia.

Reviews

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite picture books to use in a chicken or farm story time. Has been very well received. 5/9/11

Tonight one of my regular toddler attendees, had a grand time repeating the animals responses to Hattie's pronouncements. One of the older kids ran to get our fox puppet for the story. 4/10/12

My story time is turning into a toddler time and this might be too long for them :( 4/22/14

Worked well with my young group today, but it was a smaller group. 3/31/15

Didn't work as well this year. 4/5/16

Doing a Preschool Story Time again and my loud "MOO!" at the end got laughs again.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book good for language with lots of repetition, though this become a little irksome.
Hattie begins to see a fox creep slowly from the bushes and describes what she sees. The other farm animals don’t care until it is clear the animal is a Fox. Then the other animals fret in fear until the cow says “Moo” loudly and the fox runs away.

[Mr H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Irritatingly repetitive but I liked the pictures

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mem Fox managed to write about animals that are stupider than the cow in "A Particular Cow".

Hattie spots something in the bushes.

"Who cares?"
"So what?" Yeah, sheep and horse respectively, who cares if there's someone spying on us?

You can see a nose, two eyes, two ears, a body and two legs in the bushes. WELL, THE FOX IN THE PICTURE IS A TINY BIT OBVIOUS, NO?

If that cow hadn't been there to moo the fox away, then the fox might have eaten the dumbass animals and Darwin would be so proud.

[Mrs. Lindsay's Class · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mrs. Lindsay's class said:

"I liked the story because the pictures were pretty." (Paris)
"I liked the book because it was funny." (Ar'shon)
"I liked the story because it had a cow in it." (Jamya)
"I liked the story because it had a fox and a cow in it." (Jarion)
"I liked the story because it had a funny ending." (Mrs. Lindsay)
"I liked it because the fox jumped out of the bushes." (Jibril)
"I liked it because the fox got scared away!" (Dallas)

[J9 · Rating 4 out of 5]

We got a themed box of books from the library about Farms and this was one of the books. We loved this book. The illustrations were bright and colorful and the story was engaging enough to keep both my 5 yr old and twin 3 yr olds interested. Probably a level 1 reading level and so good for beginner readers as well. A big win in our family.

[Andrew Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mem Fox's contemporary take on 'The Boy Who Cried Wolf' is the my third review of picture books by Australian authors: Mem Fox sends a message to her young readers of the value of listening and respecting the words and contribution of those around them. The other farmyard animals express a mixture of disinterest and scorn when Hattie the hen repeatedly warns them of the presence of a lurking fox in the undergrowth. When the fox subsequently pounces, Hattie of course is ready to flee in time, whilst the goose, pig and other animals have made no such preparations and are only rescued by the timely intervention of a helpfully intimidating cow. The repetitive nature of Hattie's warnings and the other animals' scornful replies provides ample opportunity for EYFS children to join in the telling of the story as the book is read out: maybe voices or appropriate animal sounds could be added to accompany a farmyard theme or animal classification encompassed in the 'Understanding the World' Early Learning Goal stated in the DfE's EYFS Framework. PSHE themes of listening and respect appear prominently in any infant or primary school's ethos, whilst children often need to be reminded to listen to advice and instructions for their own safety - maybe teachers could point out the similarity between themselves and Hattie in this story! The beautiful collage-style illustrations of the animals and plants are of a variety that pupils could easily recreate or develop for themselves using tissue paper, whilst the repetitive text and sequence of speakers lends itself to even putting the book to music and singing or performing as a group in the classroom! There are opportunities for counting too - the fox's one nose, two eyes, four legs, etc. Perhaps the fox is a rather stereotypical villain for Fox to have selected - or maybe there's a play on words revolving around the author's own name itself. Neither of these detract however from the value of the book both cross-curricularly and for building school values and community.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Danger, lurking danger!

Prepare for suspense that's just scary enough for tender readers. Only Hattie the hen seems concerned. At a certain point, their reactions seem not only predictable but also kind of funny.

Hattie could escape by flying away, but the real hero of this child-sized adventure was the cow.

How, now, brown-ish cow? Find out for yourselves, Goodreaders. No spoiler from me!

The picture book creating-combo of author Mem Fox and artist Patricia Mullins: So delighted to meet you. Thank you for ths generous treat.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read-Aloud Revival Recommendation for June Picture Books.

This is an adorable book, and it will always hold a special place in my heart because my newly-minted 4-year-old could "read" most of the book from memory. He totally surprised me one day by letting me know he would read to me. And he nailed it. So fun.

[Emily Carlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hattie is worried about these body parts she keeps seeing in the bushes! All the other animals - goose, pig, horse, sheep, cow, all just wonder "Good grief!" "What now?" "Well well!"
They seem to not be worried at all! Until that fox comes out of the bushes and Hattie takes flight into the nearby tree! Suddenly all those other farm animals are worried! Except, where is that cow?

[Jenny Hartfelder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suspect that children might enjoy this book more than the adults who read it. However, that being said, my 4yo wasn't particularly intrigued by it. The repetition becomes tedious. And I personally found the farm animals' eyes to be a bit creepy. Surely there's more interesting books out there for the letter "x."

[Caroline Herfindahl]

Hattie sees something in the bushes but the other animals don’t seem to care until... the other animals all repeat the same words over and over until the climax of the story so kids could help you remember who says what... or multiple children could take on the role of one of the animals in a simple readers theater.

[Hannah Snyder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because of the farm animals. This book is about a fox in the bushes and no one would believe the chicken or care. Until a fox jumped out and the cow made it go away. Everyone was surprised because the cow was quiet and kept to herself. This would be useful because it shows that the quiet ones are just as loud and important as everyone else.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hattie the Hen sees 2 eyes in the bushes and warns her friends, none of whom seem to care. When she sees two eyes and a nose, they still don't care. On and on she warns them as she sees more and more of the fox. Still, they don't care. This book has lots of repetition, which is good with a group read aloud, but the illustrations are just okay. A decent, but not outstanding, group read aloud.

[Valleri · Rating 1 out of 5]

No one was alarmed when the hen discovered a pair of eyes looking back at her from the bushes. ...why was this book so popular?? I don't think I'll be reading this one to my kids even though it was a quick read.

[Cordelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of the book is a bit of a spoiler, but I love reading this book to my daughter. Maybe I’m having too much fun doing voices for the different animals, but I find it hilarious the way they repeat their responses over and over.

[Rix Scarth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like this book. It was very repetitive and not in a fun way. The chicken was seeing things in a bush and the other farm animals all replied the same way each time the chicken saw more of the thing in the bush. The pictures kind of creeped me out too.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sort of "boy who cried wolf" in the fact that no one would listen to poor Hattie the Hen. Sometimes, trust your gut, and when you see the fox coming...be proactive..not reactive.

A cute book that holds up well for it's age (1986) but not one of my favorites.

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elliot loves several of Mem Fox’s stories, now including this one! Hattie the Hen is trying to warn her fellow farm animals about a stranger in the bushes, but they blow her off, until it’s almost too late!


* library book
* introduced at 1.5 years old

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book worked well for storytime, with predictable text, a bit of a scare and the excitement of seeing the fox appear, little by little. Reading a big book also always adds a little variety to storytime, and certainly allows everyone to see well.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one made me laugh out loud, especially when I saw the illustration of the surprised animals at the end. We have a lot of foxes at nearby parks (some with farm animals nearby), so it made me really enjoy this more than I might have otherwise.

[Terresa Wellborn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mem Fox, children's author extraordinaire, uses repetition to make her point: pay attention in life, whether on a farm or anywhere. Pay attention & listen. Perfect for toddlers & littles in storytime, classrooms, etc.

Themes: hens, foxes, farm animals
Ages: toddler-K
Pub year: 1986

[Sam Dawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's hiding in the bushes ? The only one who cared was the hen. Will the other animals be in danger for not caring? Keep reading to see what's hiding in the bushes.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book for repetition and patterns. Great to discuss the ending and why the animals stopped repeating their phrases.

[Sharlene Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoiler (lol): Thank goodness for the loud cow!

[Margie Kunka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book to my first graders to promote curiosity and excitement. We love Hattie and her adventure.

[Maxwell Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mum said she quite liked doing all the different voices.

[Christabelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is cute! My littles love the repetition and the suspense...even though they know what comes next! Not sure why, but I can’t read Hattie’s voice without giving her a Scottish accent. 😂

[Alexandria Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, helps children who are learning to read with repetition.

[Anna Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book to learn a new vocabulary, since the words are repeated a number of times like many nursery rhythms. A nice selection of farm animals, most of which would not be harmed by a fox.