Author | Dr. Seuss |
---|---|
Illustrator | Dr. Seuss |
Cover artist | Dr. Seuss |
Language | English |
Genre | Children's Literature |
Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | June 19, 1965 (Renewed in 1993) |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback) |
ISBN | 978-0-39-490038-4 |
OCLC | 304375 |
Preceded by | Hop on Pop |
Followed by | I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew |
Fox in Socks is a children's book by Dr. Seuss, first published in 1965. It features two main characters, Fox (an anthropomorphic fox) who speaks almost entirely in densely rhyming tongue-twisters and Knox (a yellow anthropomorphic dog) who has a hard time following up Fox's tongue-twisters until the end.
The book begins by introducing Fox and Knox along with some props (a box and a pair of socks). After taking those four rhyming items through several permutations, more items are added (chicks, bricks, blocks, clocks), and so on. As the book progresses, Fox describes each situation with rhymes that progress in complexity, with Knox periodically complaining about the difficulty of the tongue-twisters. Finally, as Fox gives Knox an extended dissertation on "Tweetle Beetles" who fight each other with paddles while standing in a puddle inside a bottle on a noodle-eating poodle, a fed-up Knox interrupts and pushes him into the bottle, calling it a "tweetle beetle noodle poodle bottled paddled muddled duddled fuddled wuddled fox in socks". He then thanks an astonished Fox for all the "fun" and takes leave.
Kirkus Reviews considered it an "amusing exercise for beginning readers", but noted that the tongue-twisters made little sense when removed from the context of their illustrations. [1]
In 1996, Publishers Weekly noted that it was the 25th-best-selling hardcover children's book of all time, with 2.95M copies sold. [2]
The tweetle beetle skit was featured in The Hoober-Bloob Highway , a 1975 CBS television special. Here, the skit was part of a job: that of a "famous tweetle beetle statistician. If you took on this job, you could be the world's greatest authority on tweetle beetle battlistics, if you study tweetle beetles and their ballistic characteristics". It ended by cutting back to the base, with Mr. Hoober-Bloob waving his arms around, covering his ears, and yelling, "Stop it! Stop it! I can't stand it! That world is a vastly cruddy, bloody bore!"
In 1965, the book was adapted as a record, narrated by Marvin Miller with music by Marty Gold and his orchestra. The album starts off with a slow reading of the book, followed by a faster reading.
A tongue twister is a phrase that is designed to be difficult to articulate properly, and can be used as a type of spoken word game. Additionally, they can be used as exercises to improve pronunciation and fluency. Some tongue twisters produce results that are humorous when they are mispronounced, while others simply rely on the confusion and mistakes of the speaker for their amusement value.
Alvin Schwartz was an American author and journalist who wrote more than fifty books dedicated to and dealing with topics such as folklore and word play, many of which were intended for young readers.
Beginner Books is the Random House imprint for young children ages 3–9, co-founded by Phyllis Cerf with Ted Geisel, more often known as Dr. Seuss, and his wife Helen Palmer Geisel. Their first book was Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat (1957), whose title character appears in the brand's logo. Cerf compiled a list of 379 words as the basic vocabulary for young readers, along with another 20 slightly harder "emergency" words. No more than 200 words were taken from that list to write The Cat in the Hat. Subsequent books in the series were modeled on the same requirement.
Aileen Lucia Fisher was an American writer of more than a hundred children's books, including poetry, picture books in verse, prose about nature and America, biographies, Bible-themed books, plays, and articles for magazines and journals. Her poems have been anthologized many times and are frequently used in textbooks. In 1978 she was awarded the second National Council of Teachers of English Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Born in Michigan, Fisher moved to Colorado as an adult and lived there for the rest of her life.
The House in the Night is a children's picture book written by Susan Marie Swanson and illustrated by Beth Krommes. Published in 2008, the book is a bedtime verse about the light in a house during the night. Krommes won the 2009 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations.
Elizabeth "Liz" Garton Scanlon is an American writer of children's books, primarily picture books in collaboration with other illustrators.
A Whole Nother Story is a children's book of spy fiction published in 2010 by Dr. Cuthbert Soup. It is his debut novel.
Where is the Green Sheep? is a children's picture book written by Mem Fox and illustrated by Judy Horacek. Published by Penguin Books, it depicts various coloured sheep in various activities, with the protagonist, the green sheep, not being seen until the final pages.
Time for Bed is a 1993 children's picture book by Mem Fox. It is about various baby animals getting ready for bed with gentle encouragement from their parents; finally a human mother tucks in her child.
Sleepy Bears is a 1999 children's picture book by Mem Fox. It is about a bear preparing her family of six baby bears for hibernation.
Tiffany D. Jackson is an American author and filmmaker. She writes young adult fiction and makes horror films. She is best known for her NAACP Image Award—nominated debut novel Allegedly.
Stephanie Garber is an American author of young adult fiction known for the Caraval trilogy.
Good Night, Sleep Tight is a 2012 children's picture book by Mem Fox and illustrated by Judy Horacek. It is about Skinny Doug, a babysitter, who uses some nursery rhymes to help his charges, Bonnie and Ben, to sleep.
Bonnie and Ben Rhyme Again is a 2018 children's picture book by Mem Fox and illustrated by Judy Horacek. In this book, a sequel to Good Night, Sleep Tight, two children, Bonnie and Ben, recite some nursery rhymes to their friend, Skinny Doug, while going for a walk.
This & That is a 2015 children's picture book by Mem Fox and illustrated by Judy Horacek. It is about a mouse telling bedtime stories to a pup.
Nellie Belle is a 2015 children's picture book by Mem Fox and illustrated by Mike Austin. It is about a dog called Nellie Belle who escapes from her yard and has some adventures in her beachside town before being scared by some possums in a park and returning home.
Baby Bedtime is a 2013 children's picture book by Mem Fox and illustrated by Emma Quay. The book, published in America by Beach Lane Books, and published in Australia by Penguin Books Australia, is about an adult elephant getting her baby ready for bed.
Yoo-hoo, Ladybird! is a 2013 children's picture book by Mem Fox and illustrated by Laura Ljungkvist. In this book, the reader is invited to find a ladybird amongst a jumble of toys and everyday items. The game of hide-and-seek continues throughout the book with different scenarios.
Two Little Monkeys is a 2012 children's picture book by Mem Fox and illustrated by Jill Barton. It is about two monkeys, named Cheeky and Chee, who escape from a leopard.
Max Attacks is a 2019 children's picture book written by Kathi Appelt and illustrated by Penelope Dullaghan. It is about a distractible young cat called Max who is obsessed with some fish in a bowl but continually leaves them to pounce on things including socks, shoelaces, and a lizard on a flyscreen but always returns to the bowl. He eventually "pounces" on his food bowl, eats lots, then has a cat nap.