The Fox Who Ate Books!
Written by Franziska Biermann
Translated by Shelley Tanaka
Annick Press  10/11/2016
978-1-55451-846-3
56 pages   Ages 7—9

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“Meet Mr. Fox, who loves books . . . with a little salt and pepper, please!

“No one enjoys books more than Mr. Fox. He can never get enough! He even sells his furniture to buy more books, which he devours. Literally!

“Still, his stomach constantly growls and just can’t be filled, so he goes out on the prowl. But soon his appetite for reading lands him in big trouble.

“Down on his luck, the crafty Mr. Fox eventually comes up with a surprising way to satisfy his literary cravings.” [BACK COVER]

Review
Poor Mr. Fox. He has an unbelievably odd, yet somehow satisfying ailment—he craves books; not to read them, though he does read each page, but to eat them. It’s true, Mr. Fox loves to eat books. He likes the smell of paper turned into books. He likes to salt and pepper each page to taste and then he devours every scrap. Mr. Fox ate his way through his entire apartment, selling his belongings in order to afford more books.
When he no longer had the cash for his favorite bookstore, Mr. Fox found a new building, which had a lending system perfect for his appetite. Mr. Fox loved the library, but soon enough, the other patrons began to notice—and complain—about teeth marks, nibbled pages, and books never re-shelving. Mr. Fox found himself banned. All he could think of to assuage his cravings was a life of crime. Like most anyone who borrows their aunt’s ski mask, enters a store, and yells, “This is a holdup!” Mr. Fox found himself behind bars.
The Fox Who Ate Books will entertain young readers. Mr. Fox, an orange fox with a long snout, will do anything for a good book. Even so, you would never want to loan him one. Mr. Fox will go to much further lengths than most to devour a good book—and then he devours the book. With enjoyable illustrations to enhance the story, young readers will find Mr. Fox’s tale humorous. Kids like potty humor and Biermann gave them a clever one with Mr. Fox sitting on the toilet. With a view into the water in the toilet bowl, readers see what Mr. Fox loses: letters, numbers, and the occasional short word. For potty humor, this one is quite clever. With a limited color scheme, Mr. Fox stands out in each image.
I love the twist, where Mr. Fox . . . well, let’s just say he keeps on salting things (check the illustrations) and also encourages his readers (please don’t try). Young readers, especially ones who love to read, will like this goofy picture book/chapter book. The funny illustrations have with interesting details, for those looking closely; try turning the book upside down and read some of Mr. Fox’s writing.

The Fox Who Ate Books will keep readers entertained cover-to-cover. No salt or pepper needed.

THE FOX WHO ATE BOOKS. Text copyright © 2016 by Franziska Biermann. Translation copyright © 2016 by Shelley Tanaka. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Annick Press, New York, NY.

Amazon—Indie Books—Annick Press

Place The Fox Who Ate Books on Your Goodreads Shelf HERE.
Available in German only at Apple Books.

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Originally published in Germany © 2015 by mixtvision Verlag, München. Title: Herr Fuchs mag Bücher.

Reprinted with permission from THE FOX WHO ATE BOOKS © 2016 by Franziska Biermann, Annick Press, Illustrations © 2016 by Franziska Biermann.

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Copyright © 2016 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

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The Fox Who Ate Books
Written by Franziska Biermann
Translated by Shelley Tanaka
Annick Press 10/11/2016
9781554518463