Clyde Watson

Who is that knocking at the door?
It’s old Father Fox with surprises galore!
Licorice & lollipops, lemons & limes
A bundle of toys & a bag full of rhymes

YES!  IT’S TRUE!  FATHER FOX IS BACK!
Over thirty years ago, Father Fox’s Pennyrhymes became an instant classic and was a National Book Award Finalist. Now Father Fox returns with new rhymes especially for yuletide. These poems will conjure up the excitement & mystery of the season, from the first flakes of snow to that bittersweet moment when Christmas ends for another year...but wait!

December magic is yours to keep
If you open this book & take a peek
So with cookies & cocoa & sugary plums
Curl up & be cozy till Christmas comes!

"Fifteen rhyming poems follow the foxes as they decorate, make presents, play music, eat with the relatives, and play in the snow, and then enjoy their tree and presents together. Some of the poems are jolly and funny, while others are more quiet and thoughtful, speaking of candlelit walks in the forest, listening for angel voices, or wishing on the first star, 'a wish for peace & love & joy.' The charming foxes in their patched, old-fashioned clothes have irresistible expressions, and the exciting, candlelit spirit of the season captured in both art and poetry is irresistible as well. Like the bright flames in the foxes hearth, this charming collection ' will toast the toes and warm the heart.' "

"The Watson sisters reassemble the fox cast of their beloved Father Fox's Pennyrhymes to celebrate an old-fashioned Christmas, the sort Mother Goose might have conjured had she lived in New England. Full-page compositions framed in white borders, panel and spot art vary the pacing, decked in a holiday palette of reds and greens--not the shiny colors of ornaments, but the calm, subtle hues of folk art. The individual foxes, meanwhile, are as full of personality as ever. The rhymes can be read singly or as one loosely joined narrative. From Father Fox arriving home 'with sweets in my pockets & holes in my socks' and the cubs making a snow horse ('Up into the saddle/​Holding tight to your mane/​I’ll gallop to the North Pole & come right back again') to wishing on the first star, this book distills the essence of the season’s many pleasures."