Mrs. Fox's Wedding

Retold by Sara and Stephen Corrin

Illustrated by Errol Le Cain

Doubleday and Company, 1980

29 pages

Traditional Literature

              This story is a Grimm fairy tale that I had never heard of before. I found book at a thrift store, and the foxes with many tails caught my attention. I stood right where I was and read it cover to cover. It was not what I was expecting. When Mrs. Fox's husband dies, who had nine tails,suitors come from all over to marry Mrs. Fox. At first, they are all different sorts of animals, and she rejects them all. Then other foxes come that have 7 tails, or 10 tails. She rejects them all because they are not like her husband was. One day, a fox comes who has nine tails and she falls head over heels!

       The illustrations are the best thing about this book! They are so classic looking, and I mean that in the best way possible. I believe they are done in watercolors and maybe some sort of pencil. The left picture is in color and the left is in black and white. This is the same on every page.

       The first thing that I think of when trying connecting it to the classroom is character development. Mrs. Fox will not even see someone who is not just like her, a fox. They have to have nine tails just like her husband. You could ask the students what they notice about Mrs. Fox's behavior. This is a little bit of a stretch, but you could use it with lower grades and have them count the different number of tails. Also, the pictures and their dress appears to be turn of the century. You could hook it into a history lesson by pointing out how differently they are dressed. Ask, "Why did people dress differently back then?"