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The Fox and the Stork
Fox thinks he’s very smart when he plays a trick on Stork, but Stork outfoxes Fox--and shows him that a friend who tricks another is no friend at all. Caldecott Medalist Gerald McDermott retells a familiar trickster tale, bringing warmth and humor to the story that readers young and old will enjoy.
- GenresChildrens
24 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
3 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Gerald McDermott
65 books80 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Gerald McDermott is an award-winning children’s book illustrator and an expert on mythology. His work often combines bright colors and styles with ancient imagery.
He has created more than 25 books and animated films. His first book, Anansi the Spider, was awarded a Caldecott Honor, and he’s since won the Caldecott Medal for Arrow to the Sun and another Caldecott Honor.
Gerald McDermott is an award-winning children’s book illustrator and an expert on mythology. His work often combines bright colors and styles with ancient imagery.
He has created more than 25 books and animated films. His first book, Anansi the Spider, was awarded a Caldecott Honor, and he’s since won the Caldecott Medal for Arrow to the Sun and another Caldecott Honor.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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October 13, 2015Title: The Fox and the Stork
Author: Gerald McDermott
Genre: Fable
Theme(s): Sharing, Learning Lessons, Animals
Opening line/sentence:
Long ago, there was a fox who lived in the forest.
Brief Book Summary:
When Fox tries to play a trick on his friend Stork, while eating dinner one night, he gets the trickery right back. After he is sad about the way that the trick made him feel, he learns his lesson and the two eat in harmony.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Carolyn Phelan (Booklist)
This well-illustrated book from the Green Light Reader series retells the fable of the fox and the stork. When Fox invites Stork to dinner, he serves soup in a dish so shallow that Stork cannot eat from it. Stork retaliates by inviting Fox for soup served in a jar so tall that he cannot reach into it. Finally, Fox learns “that being kind to others is the right thing to do.” The characters and setting glow with colors in McDermott’s slightly stylized illustrations. Accessible, satisfying fare for young readers.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
HornBook
Fox invites Stork to share his soup, but he serves it on a shallow plate from which she cannot drink. Stork, however, turns the tables on him and serves soup in a tall jar accessible only to her long beak. The moral: "being kind to others is the right thing to do." The simple but expressive illustrations are a good accompaniment to this retelling of an old fable.
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
Both reviews give a fine summary of the story’s tale. They both talk about the simplistic drawings that are not too distracting for early readers. They talk about how the retelling of the classic fable was executed nicely and both reiterate the lesson learned.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
This book does not have distracting illustrations or fonts. The font is simple and black for young readers and the pictures are colorful and expressive, yet tame. This keeps the focus child, so that they can get the most out of the story.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
This book is obviously meant to help early readers with reading. However, it also tells a powerful lesson. This tale can be used with a set of other fables to teach students morals. It can after be used to guide children in writing their own fables.
Author: Gerald McDermott
Genre: Fable
Theme(s): Sharing, Learning Lessons, Animals
Opening line/sentence:
Long ago, there was a fox who lived in the forest.
Brief Book Summary:
When Fox tries to play a trick on his friend Stork, while eating dinner one night, he gets the trickery right back. After he is sad about the way that the trick made him feel, he learns his lesson and the two eat in harmony.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Carolyn Phelan (Booklist)
This well-illustrated book from the Green Light Reader series retells the fable of the fox and the stork. When Fox invites Stork to dinner, he serves soup in a dish so shallow that Stork cannot eat from it. Stork retaliates by inviting Fox for soup served in a jar so tall that he cannot reach into it. Finally, Fox learns “that being kind to others is the right thing to do.” The characters and setting glow with colors in McDermott’s slightly stylized illustrations. Accessible, satisfying fare for young readers.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
HornBook
Fox invites Stork to share his soup, but he serves it on a shallow plate from which she cannot drink. Stork, however, turns the tables on him and serves soup in a tall jar accessible only to her long beak. The moral: "being kind to others is the right thing to do." The simple but expressive illustrations are a good accompaniment to this retelling of an old fable.
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
Both reviews give a fine summary of the story’s tale. They both talk about the simplistic drawings that are not too distracting for early readers. They talk about how the retelling of the classic fable was executed nicely and both reiterate the lesson learned.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
This book does not have distracting illustrations or fonts. The font is simple and black for young readers and the pictures are colorful and expressive, yet tame. This keeps the focus child, so that they can get the most out of the story.
Consideration of Instructional Application:
This book is obviously meant to help early readers with reading. However, it also tells a powerful lesson. This tale can be used with a set of other fables to teach students morals. It can after be used to guide children in writing their own fables.
June 22, 2018
A signed copy of a classic Aesop fable that still makes pragmatic sense .
December 23, 2024
The stork teaches the fox a lesson, Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you. Cute children's book. 😍
December 5, 2010
For kindergarten children, I would use this book in the classroom to illustrate to children the importance of being kind to one another. In addition, this book can be used in the classroom to ask children questions related to the book, for example, how would you feel if someone treated you bad, is it good to share with one another, or should we take advantage of one another.
June 10, 2016
This is a retelling of an old story of how you are suppose to treat your friends. Fox invites stork over for supper and he fixes dinner in a dish that stork can't eat out of so she goes away still hungry. So in turn stork invites fox over and puts soup in a vase that she can get her beak in but fox can't eat out of. Showing fox it wasn't very nice of him to do.
October 14, 2015
This book was cute. I think the meaning behind it! This would be a great book to read to toddlers/preschoolers in order to show them that we should always be kind to our friends.
August 15, 2016
Fox learns a lesson in kindness from his friend the stork.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews