Fantastic Mr Fox is a children’s novel written by British author Roald Dahl. It was published in 1970, by George Allen & Unwin in the UK and Alfred A. Knopf in the U.S., with illustrations by Donald Chaffin. The first Puffin paperback, first issued in 1974, featured illustrations by Jill Bennett. Later editions have featured illustrations by Tony Ross (1988) and Quentin Blake (1996). The story is about Mr Fox and how he outwits his farmer neighbours to steal their food from right under their noses.
“On a hill above the valley there was a wood.
In the wood there was a huge tree. Under the tree there was a hole.
In the hole lived Mr Fox and Mrs Fox and their four Small Foxes. . . “
Mr Fox is a very clever fox – every evening he creeps down into the valley and helps himself to food from the nearby farms. Chickens from Farmer Boggis, ducks and geese from Farmer Bunce, and turkeys from Farmer Bean.
But now the farmers have had enough, and together they hatch a plan to get rid of Mr Fox for good! But what they don’t know is Mr Fox has some help, and a fantastic escape plan of his own…