Basho and the Fox

by Tim J. Myers, Oki S. Han (Illustrator)

An old pond.
A frog jumps in.
The sound of water.
—Basho

There are important lessons to be learned, even by proud poets, in this innovative tale of a fox who thinks he’s a great poet and a great poet who thinks he can outdo a fox! It is the 1600s in Japan. Basho is writing the lovely haiku for which he is famous to this day. Given three chances by the fox, he must write a poem that "needn’t be great—only good." Confident of his skill, he’s sure he can win the challenge and its prize, the sweet cherries from the tree near his hut. But not all is what it seems as a newly humble Basho discovers! Delicate watercolors convey a truly Eastern sensibility that takes young readers back in time to feudal Japan while their playful perspectives reinforce the mischievous tone of the text.

Genres: Picture Books, Poetry, Japan, Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy, Animals

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2000

About the author

Tim J. Myers is a writer, songwriter, storyteller, and lecturer at Santa Clara University in Silicon Valley. His"Glad to Be Dad: A Call to Fatherhood" is out from Familius and "Nectar of Story: Poems" from BlazeVox. He has 15 children's books out and one on the way. His children’s books have won recognition from the New York Times, NPR, the Smithsonian, Nickelodeon, and others. He’s published over 130 poems, won a first prize in a poetry contest judged by John Updike, has a poetry chapbook out, won a major prize in science fiction, was nominated for two Pushcarts, and has published much other fiction and non-fiction for children and adults. He recently won the West Coast Songwriters Saratoga Chapter Song of the Year award. His website is www.TimMyersStorySong.com, his YouTube channel is at https://www.youtube.com/user/TimJMyers, and he can whistle and hum at the same time.

Reviews

[H. Givens]

Love it! Well-told with large, detailed illustrations, lovely haiku, and a perfect twist at the end!

[Robin]

A great read aloud and companion book for studying Haiku poetry. The illustrations are beautiful and support the text well.

[Cara]

Basho wants to be a poet and the Fox thinks his poems are horrible until Basho comes up with a poem about foxes, just to realize the Fox isn't so great at poems.

[skcocnaH]

I like basho and the river stones better.

[Ted]

A cute story beautifully illustrated.

[Loren]

We checked this out from the library twice before I tracked down a copy to buy. The illustrations of the poet-foxes in their kimonos are magical and sweet. The text is rich enough for multiple analyses. The poet Basho lives as a hermit in Japan and gets into a dispute with the local foxes about a cherry tree. They challenge him to present one perfect poem in order to win the right to the cherries. Mason sees the moral as seeking inspiration rather than honing your craft in a vacuum. I think it's about targeting your work to your audience. Either way, it's a wonderful book.

[The Brothers]

A delightful story about a great Japanese poet who gets into a "battle of the haikus" with a fox. The fox assures him that foxes are the best poets around and if Basho can right a good - not even a great - poem, the foxes will let him have all the sweet cherries in the tree. In the end, Basho realizes that poems should be written for their own sake and foxes have a rather inflated opinion of their poetic abilities.

Fabulous illustrations.

[Sonja]

This is one of my favorite choices to read aloud to a classroom of older students. I was impressed when the third graders I read it to a few weeks ago knew who Basho was and recognized one of his poems! (Apparently from one of the Magic Treehouse books.)

[Bernadette]

This is a fabulous story I read to Frida at the library. I want to go back and check it out so I can reread it.

[Susanne]

A wonderful children's story, written by a former colleague of mine in Japan

[Patricia]

If you write poetry for someone (animal, mineral, vegetable or human) make sure it's familiar. You know, make it relevant. And always share. A delightful book!

[Tuyet Tran]

This story introduces students to haiku, a Japanese's poem.

[Roxanne]

Really delightful.

[Tim Myers]

When the great Japanese poet Basho moves to a new place, the local foxes want to continue eating the cherries of the tree on his property. This leads to a poetry contest--and a surprising ending!

[Rani]

Basho, the greatest #Haiku poet in #Japan learns to be humble and wins over a #fox.