cover image The Fox and the Hen

The Fox and the Hen

Eric Battut, . . Boxer, $16.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-1-907152-02-3

French writer and illustrator Battut presents a sturdy barnyard fable about cooperation, featuring a fox who tricks a naïve hen out of her first egg. Fortunately, the other animals offer their support. And though Red Fox can't be cajoled into accepting any of their gifts in exchange for the egg (not even the “nice jar of marmalade that Pig has made”), justice is served when he's fooled by a gigantic whitewashed stone. Battut's work has the static, peaceful quality of classic tales from an earlier generation; the text appears against a white background, while on the opposing pages, flat, folk-style animals stand in profile against a reddening sky. The long sequence of attempts by the animals to get the egg back drags a little, but readers frustrated by the fox's particularly wicked refusals (he twists the knife by telling Henrietta that he'd rather have a poached egg, omelet, and so on, instead of whatever item is being offered) will enjoy watching him get his comeuppance. Ages 3–5. (Mar.)