Fox in Socks (Dr Seuss Green Back Books)

"This is a book you READ ALOUD to find out just how smart your tongue is. The first time you read it, don't go fast! This Fox is a tricky fox. He'll try to get your tongue in trouble."

Just in case you missed the small print on the cover as soon as you open the book there is an even larger warning instructing you to "Take it Slowly" becaseu "This Book is Dangerous!" If that is not an invitation for young kids to read a book, then I do not know what would be. However, there is a good chance that your tongue will be numb by the time you finish read about "Knox on fox in socks in box," "Six sick bricks tick," and "Sue sews socks of fox in socks now." But if you can call something "a tweetle bettle noodle poodle bottled paddled muddled duddled fuddled wuddled fox in socks," then you need not be a-feared of anything else you ever read in the rest of your life.

"Fox in Socks" is dedicated to Mizi Long and Audrey Dimond of the Mt. Soledad Lingual Laboratories, who I suspect helped Theodor Geisel identify the specific phonetics that beginning readers would have to work on (I had to spend a week repeating some nonsense about "thirty thousand boys with thirty thousand drums" to work on the "th" sound). When you remember that the genesis for "The Cat in the Hat" was the idea of taking 220 basic words, rhyming them, and turning them into a book that would make children more interested in reading than having to deal with Dick, Jane, Sally, and Spot ("See Spot Run. Run Spot Run. Fetch the ball, Spot"). "Fox in Socks" is a clear reminder that these books are not just a lot of fun when you read "Duck takes licks in lakes Luke Luck likes" but also educational, in the best sense of the word.


Not as good as Green Eggs & Ham!   February 8, 2004
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

My 2 1/2 year old daughter loves all Dr Seuss books, but this is the one I like reading to her the least and thank goodness this is also the least requested at bedtime.

I think it's our least favourite because it's basically a book of tongue-twisters & doesn't really have as much of a 'story' to it like Green Eggs & Ham or Cat in the Hat (I use the word story in the loosest way).

So buy it by all means because if your child loves Dr Seuss then they will love this as well, but if you hate tongue-twisters you have been warned :)


Great book full of tongue twisters!   January 3, 2002
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I bought this book for my 2 year old for christmas, and he loves it. It's full of tongue twisters, which he thinks is really funny and has even tried to do them himself! I would definately recommend this book for anyone, adults and children alike!


Gripping stuff....   September 6, 2001
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

...even if, like my son, your only 14 months old. He can't really say proper words yet but he's mesmerised by the rhyming words and stories in Fox in Sox. Its his favourite bedtime book without a doubt!!


PLAYING WITH WORDS IS FUN   February 28, 2001
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

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There can be no better way to increase a child's confidence in his use of language than playing games with words.

Dr Seuss' "Fox in Socks" will take children on a voyage. They will giggle with all the words that rhyme. They will laugh at all the words that spill across the pages, and they will start to see that even nonsense words can sometimes be something special.

Children will learn that a few simple words can be put together in endless combinations. They will see that language can have structure and a story can be built upon the simplest of ideas.

Dr Seuss gets us to focus on and practice all the tricky sounds that make up our words and sometimes cause us to be lazy with our speech. He takes us from a "quick trick brick stack" to one made of blocks, chicks and clocks.

Lots of little tongues have trouble pronouncing Ls. Let them loose on Luke Luck likes lakes".

On a more serious note it could be expected that children who occasionally stumble or stutter with their words may benefit from immersing themselves in the wonderful world of Dr Seuss' "Fox in Socks".

The pictures, once you get to know the style, really grow on you. You just have to keep coming back for more.