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Fox in Socks
An alternate cover edition exists here.
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.
Dr. Seuss gives fair warning to anyone brave enough to read along with the Fox in Socks, who likes to play tongue-twisting games with his friend Mr. Knox.
"Here's an easy game to play. Here's an easy thing to say.... New socks. Two socks. Whose socks? Sue's socks."
But Mr. Fox Socks isn't about to let Knox off so easy. Soon Goo-Goose is choosing to chew chewy gluey blue goo, while tweetle beetles battle with paddles in a puddle (in case you were wondering, that's called a "tweetle beetle puddle paddle battle"). Mr. Knox gets exasperated: "I can't blab such blibber blubber! My tongue isn't made of rubber." But he catches on to the game before it's all through.
One of Dr Seuss' best, this must-read-aloud classic is guaranteed to get many giggles out of readers young and old.
Best Audience: Ages 4 to 8
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.
Dr. Seuss gives fair warning to anyone brave enough to read along with the Fox in Socks, who likes to play tongue-twisting games with his friend Mr. Knox.
"Here's an easy game to play. Here's an easy thing to say.... New socks. Two socks. Whose socks? Sue's socks."
But Mr. Fox Socks isn't about to let Knox off so easy. Soon Goo-Goose is choosing to chew chewy gluey blue goo, while tweetle beetles battle with paddles in a puddle (in case you were wondering, that's called a "tweetle beetle puddle paddle battle"). Mr. Knox gets exasperated: "I can't blab such blibber blubber! My tongue isn't made of rubber." But he catches on to the game before it's all through.
One of Dr Seuss' best, this must-read-aloud classic is guaranteed to get many giggles out of readers young and old.
Best Audience: Ages 4 to 8
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
About the author
Dr. Seuss
818 books17.7k followersTheodor Seuss Geisel was born 2 March 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He graduated Dartmouth College in 1925, and proceeded on to Oxford University with the intent of acquiring a doctorate in literature. At Oxford he met Helen Palmer, who he wed in 1927. He returned from Europe in 1927, and began working for a magazine called Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at the time, submitting both cartoons and humorous articles for them. Additionally, he was submitting cartoons to Life, Vanity Fair and Liberty. In some of his works, he'd made reference to an insecticide called Flit. These references gained notice, and led to a contract to draw comic ads for Flit. This association lasted 17 years, gained him national exposure, and coined the catchphrase "Quick, Henry, the Flit!"
In 1936 on the way to a vacation in Europe, listening to the rhythm of the ship's engines, he came up with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, which was then promptly rejected by the first 43 publishers he showed it to. Eventually in 1937 a friend published the book for him, and it went on to at least moderate success.
During World War II, Geisel joined the army and was sent to Hollywood. Captain Geisel would write for Frank Capra's Signal Corps Unit (for which he won the Legion of Merit) and do documentaries (he won Oscar's for Hitler Lives and Design for Death). He also created a cartoon called Gerald McBoing-Boing which also won him an Oscar.
In May of 1954, Life published a report concerning illiteracy among school children. The report said, among other things, that children were having trouble to read because their books were boring. This inspired Geisel's publisher, and prompted him to send Geisel a list of 400 words he felt were important, asked him to cut the list to 250 words (the publishers idea of how many words at one time a first grader could absorb), and write a book. Nine months later, Geisel, using 220 of the words given to him published The Cat in the Hat , which went on to instant success.
In 1960 Bennett Cerf bet Geisel $50 that he couldn't write an entire book using only fifty words. The result was Green Eggs and Ham . Cerf never paid the $50 from the bet.
Helen Palmer Geisel died in 1967. Theodor Geisel married Audrey Stone Diamond in 1968. Theodor Seuss Geisel died 24 September 1991.
Also worked under the pen name: Theo Le Sieg
In 1936 on the way to a vacation in Europe, listening to the rhythm of the ship's engines, he came up with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, which was then promptly rejected by the first 43 publishers he showed it to. Eventually in 1937 a friend published the book for him, and it went on to at least moderate success.
During World War II, Geisel joined the army and was sent to Hollywood. Captain Geisel would write for Frank Capra's Signal Corps Unit (for which he won the Legion of Merit) and do documentaries (he won Oscar's for Hitler Lives and Design for Death). He also created a cartoon called Gerald McBoing-Boing which also won him an Oscar.
In May of 1954, Life published a report concerning illiteracy among school children. The report said, among other things, that children were having trouble to read because their books were boring. This inspired Geisel's publisher, and prompted him to send Geisel a list of 400 words he felt were important, asked him to cut the list to 250 words (the publishers idea of how many words at one time a first grader could absorb), and write a book. Nine months later, Geisel, using 220 of the words given to him published The Cat in the Hat , which went on to instant success.
In 1960 Bennett Cerf bet Geisel $50 that he couldn't write an entire book using only fifty words. The result was Green Eggs and Ham . Cerf never paid the $50 from the bet.
Helen Palmer Geisel died in 1967. Theodor Geisel married Audrey Stone Diamond in 1968. Theodor Seuss Geisel died 24 September 1991.
Also worked under the pen name: Theo Le Sieg
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,776 reviews
January 21, 2024
The origin story of my intrusive thoughts. Just a normal day shelving books, keeping it real and suddenly my brain will start exclaiming “DO YOU CHOOSE TO CHEW GOO, TOO, SIR?! IF, SIR, YOU, SIR, CHOOSE TO CHEW, SIR, WITH THE GOO-GOOSE, CHEW, SIR. DO SIR!!”
Or maybe a quiet walk in the evening. Sun is low, spirits are high.
My brain: “ When a fox is in the bottle where the tweetle beetls battle with their paddles in a puddle on a noodle-eating poodle. THIS is what they call—”
Shut up brain! But for real, this is a classic for a reason. It will haunt me eternal.
Or maybe a quiet walk in the evening. Sun is low, spirits are high.
My brain: “ When a fox is in the bottle where the tweetle beetls battle with their paddles in a puddle on a noodle-eating poodle. THIS is what they call—”
Shut up brain! But for real, this is a classic for a reason. It will haunt me eternal.
May 22, 2020
What does the fox say?
Incoherent nonsense that my daughter truly loves. I've given up ever trying to read this book without messing up at least once, my voice and brain are just not up to the challenge; if anything though, that is part of the charm.
Obviously based on her laughter, that adds to the book to her at least.
4/5 stars for one of the good doctor's classics.
Incoherent nonsense that my daughter truly loves. I've given up ever trying to read this book without messing up at least once, my voice and brain are just not up to the challenge; if anything though, that is part of the charm.
Obviously based on her laughter, that adds to the book to her at least.
4/5 stars for one of the good doctor's classics.
June 22, 2021
My youngest daughter (4 years) picked this one out from Books-a-Million for her bedtime story. She enjoyed and laughed at its amazing tongue twisters and humorous pictures. My second oldest son (19 years), severely autistic, also enjoyed it too when I read it to him and to his little sister. So a wide appeal in the O'Brien Family demographic! A great fun book for pre-school and beginning readers!
May 3, 2019
Mental Health Break!
I've been reading books dealing with really dark situations all day, so I needed something easy to read.
Super cute read!
I've been reading books dealing with really dark situations all day, so I needed something easy to read.
Super cute read!
January 22, 2019
The only downside to this delightful Seuss joint, perhaps my favorite work of his, is that it lacks the greatest tongue-twister of all time: how many boys could a bag boy bag if a bag boy could bag boys?
(The answer is seven, incidentally, if you’re keeping score at home.)
(The answer is seven, incidentally, if you’re keeping score at home.)
December 11, 2012
This is my favorite Dr. Suess book of all time. That’s because my mom couldn’t read it. I mean...she could read most of it. But when she got to the Bim bends Ben’s broom, she’d start tripping up. Then she’d start to laugh, and she laughed so hard a couple of times tears came to her eyes. I loved my mom’s laughter. Consequently, I used to pick up this book almost every night. I think she hid it for a while.
So can YOU read this out loud?
Bim comes.
Ben comes.
Bim brings Ben broom.
Ben brings Bim broom.
Ben bends Bim's broom.
Bim bends Ben’s broom.
Bim’s bends.
Ben’s bends.
Ben’s bent broom breaks.
Bim’s bent broom breaks.
Ben’s band.
Bim’s band.
Big bands.
Pig bands.
Bim and Ben lead bands with brooms.
Ben’s band bangs and Bim’s band booms.
So can YOU read this out loud?
Bim comes.
Ben comes.
Bim brings Ben broom.
Ben brings Bim broom.
Ben bends Bim's broom.
Bim bends Ben’s broom.
Bim’s bends.
Ben’s bends.
Ben’s bent broom breaks.
Bim’s bent broom breaks.
Ben’s band.
Bim’s band.
Big bands.
Pig bands.
Bim and Ben lead bands with brooms.
Ben’s band bangs and Bim’s band booms.
Read
April 27, 2016Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
Either 1 Star or 5 Stars depending on how many times you've been forced to read it/how many glasses of wine you've had to drink
Any sportsball fans in the house? If so you’ll know that meme is 100% accurate. However, since today is Dr. Seuss’ birthday I’m here to talk about a different annoying sound – that which comes from discovering what the fox says . . .
Wrong again, but it’s almost as aggravating. In case you are someone who is far removed from your own childhood and not yetcursed blessed with any children of your own, you might not be familiar with Fox in Socks. Take note that any children’s book that comes with a disclaimer . . .
might not end up being your idea of a great time. Buuuuuuuuuuut, if you discover you have been gifted with the ability to read tongue-twisters at an astonishing speed, the tiny human giggles that your magic will generate is well worth the annoyance of having this be the selection that is requested to read on a never-ending loop of ”AGAIN!!!!”
And really, the alternative “fox” story . . .
Will make you have to up your dosage of Lexapro so it’s better to stick with this one.
Either 1 Star or 5 Stars depending on how many times you've been forced to read it/how many glasses of wine you've had to drink
Any sportsball fans in the house? If so you’ll know that meme is 100% accurate. However, since today is Dr. Seuss’ birthday I’m here to talk about a different annoying sound – that which comes from discovering what the fox says . . .
Wrong again, but it’s almost as aggravating. In case you are someone who is far removed from your own childhood and not yet
might not end up being your idea of a great time. Buuuuuuuuuuut, if you discover you have been gifted with the ability to read tongue-twisters at an astonishing speed, the tiny human giggles that your magic will generate is well worth the annoyance of having this be the selection that is requested to read on a never-ending loop of ”AGAIN!!!!”
And really, the alternative “fox” story . . .
Will make you have to up your dosage of Lexapro so it’s better to stick with this one.
April 4, 2022
A great tongue-twister loaded with too many rhymes.
December 22, 2017
Poor Knox cringes and begs for mercy. "Please, sir. I don't like this trick, sir." But Fox refuses to relent. "Here's an easy game to play," he whispers - but his wordplay is more than games. It's an assault on Knox's very sanity, and as the book progresses he slowly, cruelly tears the fabric of reality away from the defenseless Knox. An unending series of nightmare images parade by, reminiscent of brainwashing scenes in dystopias like 1984 and Clockwork Orange.
a giant crow sews Knox into a box
on the next page Fox tries to get him to chew the blue goo
Fox in Socks has been called Seuss's greatest tragedy. Its ending is irredeemably bleak. Fox succeeds in driving Knox mad - but in a final twist, the now-lunatic Knox turns against his tormenter and viciously murders him.
"Thank you," gibbers the raving Knox, "For a lot of fun, sir!" as the battling tweetle beetles advance on the trapped fox.
Make mad the guilty, and appall the free,
Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed
The very faculties of eyes and ears.
- Hamlet II.ii
a giant crow sews Knox into a box
on the next page Fox tries to get him to chew the blue goo
Fox in Socks has been called Seuss's greatest tragedy. Its ending is irredeemably bleak. Fox succeeds in driving Knox mad - but in a final twist, the now-lunatic Knox turns against his tormenter and viciously murders him.
"Thank you," gibbers the raving Knox, "For a lot of fun, sir!" as the battling tweetle beetles advance on the trapped fox.
Make mad the guilty, and appall the free,
Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed
The very faculties of eyes and ears.
- Hamlet II.ii
June 29, 2018
This is the tongue twister to end all tongue twister and of course it is a fox which makes it perfect. I heard an audio recording of this where the reader was extremely fast and I aspire to be able to say it that fast and it is difficult.
This is one of my all time favorite books and I love to get it out and read it fast to the kids, well, as fast as I can and they laugh and wonder how I do that. It's my one trick. I give this all the stars.
This is one of my all time favorite books and I love to get it out and read it fast to the kids, well, as fast as I can and they laugh and wonder how I do that. It's my one trick. I give this all the stars.
October 24, 2021
When my son decides he likes a book, he likes you to read it so many times consecutively that the words lose all meaning. Fox in Sox is one of those books.
No two ways about it, this book is an endless series of fun tongue twisters. It's fun to read out loud but after the first ten times, everything blends together and your brain starts feeling like warm oatmeal.
Fox is Sox is some brain-melting, tongue-twisting good fun.
No two ways about it, this book is an endless series of fun tongue twisters. It's fun to read out loud but after the first ten times, everything blends together and your brain starts feeling like warm oatmeal.
Fox is Sox is some brain-melting, tongue-twisting good fun.
March 19, 2020
EXCERPT: Let's have a little talk about tweetle beetles....
What do you know about tweetle beetles? Well...
When tweetle beetles fight,
it's called a tweetle beetle battle.
And when they battle in a puddle,
it's a tweetle beetle puddle battle.
AND when tweetle beetles battle with paddles in a puddle,
they call it a tweetle beetle puddle paddle battle.
AND...
When beetles battle beetles in a puddle paddle battle
and the beetle battle puddle is a puddle in a bottle...
...they call this a tweetle beetle bottle puddle paddle battle muddle.
AND...
When beetles fight these battles in a bottle with their paddles
and the bottle's on a poodle and the poodle's eating noodles...
...they call this a muddle puddle tweetle poodle beetle noodle
bottle paddle battle.
AND...
ABOUT THIS BOOK: In this hilarious book, the irrepressible Fox in Socks teaches a baffled Mr. Knox some of the slickest, quickest tongue-twisters in town.
MY THOUGHTS: Fox in Socks is currently my grandson's favourite book. It really is the only book he currently wants to read, or to be read to him. It has even ousted his Paw Patrol book in the favourites stakes!
And he is word perfect on it....when my tongue got twisted the other day, he said 'Nana, that's not right. Read it again!'
Dr Seuss brings out the child in all of us. I love reading, and rereading, his books. I love the illustrations. I love the sillyness.
5 stupendous stars 😂🤣❤🤪💖
THE AUTHOR: Dr. Seuss has been delighting young children and helping them learn to read for over fifty years. Creator of the wonderfully anarchic Cat in the Hat, and ranked among the UK's top ten favourite children's authors, Seuss is firmly established as a global best-seller, with nearly half a billion books sold worldwide.
DISCLOSURE: My grandson, Luke, owns his copy of Fox in Socks by Dr Seuss, published by Greenback Books. All opinions expressed in this review are my own personal opinions and those of my grandson, Luke.
For an explanation f my rating system, please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page, or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
What do you know about tweetle beetles? Well...
When tweetle beetles fight,
it's called a tweetle beetle battle.
And when they battle in a puddle,
it's a tweetle beetle puddle battle.
AND when tweetle beetles battle with paddles in a puddle,
they call it a tweetle beetle puddle paddle battle.
AND...
When beetles battle beetles in a puddle paddle battle
and the beetle battle puddle is a puddle in a bottle...
...they call this a tweetle beetle bottle puddle paddle battle muddle.
AND...
When beetles fight these battles in a bottle with their paddles
and the bottle's on a poodle and the poodle's eating noodles...
...they call this a muddle puddle tweetle poodle beetle noodle
bottle paddle battle.
AND...
ABOUT THIS BOOK: In this hilarious book, the irrepressible Fox in Socks teaches a baffled Mr. Knox some of the slickest, quickest tongue-twisters in town.
MY THOUGHTS: Fox in Socks is currently my grandson's favourite book. It really is the only book he currently wants to read, or to be read to him. It has even ousted his Paw Patrol book in the favourites stakes!
And he is word perfect on it....when my tongue got twisted the other day, he said 'Nana, that's not right. Read it again!'
Dr Seuss brings out the child in all of us. I love reading, and rereading, his books. I love the illustrations. I love the sillyness.
5 stupendous stars 😂🤣❤🤪💖
THE AUTHOR: Dr. Seuss has been delighting young children and helping them learn to read for over fifty years. Creator of the wonderfully anarchic Cat in the Hat, and ranked among the UK's top ten favourite children's authors, Seuss is firmly established as a global best-seller, with nearly half a billion books sold worldwide.
DISCLOSURE: My grandson, Luke, owns his copy of Fox in Socks by Dr Seuss, published by Greenback Books. All opinions expressed in this review are my own personal opinions and those of my grandson, Luke.
For an explanation f my rating system, please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page, or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
September 11, 2017
‘Dr Seuss’ being the pen name under which Theodor Seuss Geisel wrote (taking his middle name and making full use of his Oxford University PhD in English literature) was the American born grandson of German immigrants to the US.
Beginning his career in the late 1920’s as an illustrator and cartoonist, it wasn’t until nearly 30 years later that Seuss produced his classic series of children’s books that so many of us know and love.
Never having the benefit of the books of Dr Seuss when I was a child, it was with great pleasure that I discovered his work many years later when reading them to my own children.
For anyone who has not yet discovered Seuss’s classic children’s books – now is the time to do so! What Seuss has created using such imagination, with a particularly dynamic (both flamboyant but simple) and unique style of illustration, coupled with his verse rhythms and the use of repetitive but building and twisting phrases – all in an extremely and deliberately accessible way, is a series of works which are a fantastic visual and verbal feast, captivating both children and adults alike.
For me the most memorable examples of Seuss’s work are:
‘The Cat in the Hat’ (along with its sequel ‘The Cat in the Hat Comes Back’) – For the wonderful creation of mischief that is the ‘Cat in the Hat’
‘Fox in Socks’ – For the tremendously bizarre tongue-twisters
‘Green Eggs and Ham’ – For the ever building and dynamic nature of the verse.
All of them of course have Seuss’s trademark fantastic illustrations and rhythmic verses throughout.
It is that unique combination of:
Attractive illustrations and exciting verse – both very dynamic, always moving always going somewhere new; both very strange, silly and bizarre – all in an extremely accessible, engaging and compelling (and let’s not forget educational) way – which creates Dr Seuss’s fantastically immersive world.
A timeless world of the imagination, of amazing words, pictures, rhymes, stories, learning, but above all else – FUN
Not just for children, but for the child in all of us.
Beginning his career in the late 1920’s as an illustrator and cartoonist, it wasn’t until nearly 30 years later that Seuss produced his classic series of children’s books that so many of us know and love.
Never having the benefit of the books of Dr Seuss when I was a child, it was with great pleasure that I discovered his work many years later when reading them to my own children.
For anyone who has not yet discovered Seuss’s classic children’s books – now is the time to do so! What Seuss has created using such imagination, with a particularly dynamic (both flamboyant but simple) and unique style of illustration, coupled with his verse rhythms and the use of repetitive but building and twisting phrases – all in an extremely and deliberately accessible way, is a series of works which are a fantastic visual and verbal feast, captivating both children and adults alike.
For me the most memorable examples of Seuss’s work are:
‘The Cat in the Hat’ (along with its sequel ‘The Cat in the Hat Comes Back’) – For the wonderful creation of mischief that is the ‘Cat in the Hat’
‘Fox in Socks’ – For the tremendously bizarre tongue-twisters
‘Green Eggs and Ham’ – For the ever building and dynamic nature of the verse.
All of them of course have Seuss’s trademark fantastic illustrations and rhythmic verses throughout.
It is that unique combination of:
Attractive illustrations and exciting verse – both very dynamic, always moving always going somewhere new; both very strange, silly and bizarre – all in an extremely accessible, engaging and compelling (and let’s not forget educational) way – which creates Dr Seuss’s fantastically immersive world.
A timeless world of the imagination, of amazing words, pictures, rhymes, stories, learning, but above all else – FUN
Not just for children, but for the child in all of us.
January 18, 2024
Tongue twisters that'll make you stumble and chuckle as you try to read this insane book aloud.
Brilliant.
Brilliant.
November 26, 2017
Dr. Seuss will drive you crazy with his silly questions. But then they might be clever too in a wicked sort of way through the mouth of his cool-as-cucumber characters.
image:
Once again a book full of wild, wild, wild tongue twisters. Read and go mad. Make your children go mad too for a day. Nothing wrong with it.
image:
Fox in Socks
Truly Rocks.
Socks on Rocks,
Box in Socks,
Rocks in Box,
Socks on Fox.
This is one book that is richer
Than Goldfinger's Fort Knox.
If you say right each tongue twister
You will be one smart 'Fox in Socks'.
image:
Once again a book full of wild, wild, wild tongue twisters. Read and go mad. Make your children go mad too for a day. Nothing wrong with it.
image:
Fox in Socks
Truly Rocks.
Socks on Rocks,
Box in Socks,
Rocks in Box,
Socks on Fox.
This is one book that is richer
Than Goldfinger's Fort Knox.
If you say right each tongue twister
You will be one smart 'Fox in Socks'.
February 3, 2021
Because Mockingjay was so intellectually vapid and emotionally bland I have to work my way back into books. Thus: Fox in Socks! He's a clever fox you know.
If you enjoyed this review you'll probably like my Youtube reviews--be warned, I enjoy some good snark! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6D...
If you enjoyed this review you'll probably like my Youtube reviews--be warned, I enjoy some good snark! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6D...
August 12, 2017
one of my kids favorites, they love having me try to read it and then read it fast. TONGUE TWISTERS!
August 2, 2013
This is one of our favorite Dr. Seuss books. One of the best tongue twister books I've ever read. We've read it several times and for some reason the six sick part always messes me up. I'm pretty smooth up until then. The more I read out loud to my kids, the more I realize I read ahead. I see a word and digest it, then as I'm saying it out loud, I'm already reading the next couple of words. With this book, that's difficult to do, because I often have to go back a word or two because I've forgotten what it was, they're all so similar. Still, a fun read, great for learning, great for diction, great for practicing new digraphs, and just all around great for fun and the love of learning.
October 16, 2021
Every time I shelve this book at the library, I laugh to myself.
Why?
Back in the day, our local Fox affiliate got into a debacle with our local cable provider, Cox. So, every day for over a month, "Fox on Cox" was all over the local news and in the newspaper. My mom always said that it sounded like a Dr. Seuss book, and she wasn't the only one who thought so; somebody wrote a Ted-Geisel-style rhyming poem and submitted it to our local paper.
The tongue twisters were fun, too; still, I'll always associate this book with the incident between a local channel and Cox Cable.
Why?
Back in the day, our local Fox affiliate got into a debacle with our local cable provider, Cox. So, every day for over a month, "Fox on Cox" was all over the local news and in the newspaper. My mom always said that it sounded like a Dr. Seuss book, and she wasn't the only one who thought so; somebody wrote a Ted-Geisel-style rhyming poem and submitted it to our local paper.
The tongue twisters were fun, too; still, I'll always associate this book with the incident between a local channel and Cox Cable.
July 30, 2008
This is an evil kid's book, for sure. Pick it up and you'll be condemned to a near eternity of grueling tongue twisters. And your kid will love it... Not because it's one of Seuss's masterpieces, but because he or she will enjoy watching you sweat like a hog as you labor from page to page and go purple in the face while you silently (with any luck) curse yourself for buying the thing.
[shelf: evil-kids-books]
[shelf: evil-kids-books]
November 11, 2018
This book will either help emerging readers be better able to pronounce potentially confusing words, or drive them insane. I experienced a little of both! I remember having fun while Fox in Socks was read to me, though.
January 21, 2024
This is a buddy cop story about one down-on-his-luck, jaded old detective named Knox and a scrappy new deputy named Fox. Fox is the sort of guy who travels the whole world with nothing on his feet but socks. Knox is the kind you box in.
Fox points out early on how Knox puts himself in a box at the station. Knox responds by trying to get Fox in the same box. Fox responds by trying to get Knox to parade around the world in nothing but blue socks like himself. Knox ignores him.
So to get his attention, Officer Fox gets a whole bunch of chicks to come. Some are time bound type-A chicks. Some are creative, almost childish block building types. Others are blue collar brick layers. Fox tries to get Knox to let at least one of these chicks turn a trick for him.
Covering their blue collar and creative shifts at work, Fox gives the chicks time with Knox. Knox doesn't really respond to all of this, so Fox tries to get involved with the chicks too. Knox tells him he'd rather have a bedroom full of bricks than chicks, for all the good it does his detective work. He begs Fox off.
Who apologizes.
Then brings a single girl named Sue onto the crime scene, herself wearing socks and no shoes like a little fae creature. She's the kind of girl who does her own sewing.
"See?" Fox asks Knox.
Knox admits it's a rather difficult thing to do one's own sewing. But he waits too long.
Who comes? Crow comes. Slow Joe Crow comes. He's the kind of guy that can sew too and so he and Sue swap sewing. Fox tries to distract her by getting her to sew his sox and stay in the department.
But meanwhile, Slow Joe Crow catches Knox and sews him into that box he's built for himself. It's even worse now. Sue retaliates by sewing Slow Joe Crow's rose to him.
Knox gets tired of this and tries to go on a holiday.
Fox crashes it by taking him to this environmental disaster, this superfund site where the water of the river has turned to blue goo. Even the geese are eating the stuff. Fox, the naive youngster, encourages Knox to try some.
Knox sees it for what it is: poison. So he bails.
Fox at this point is sultry, but isn't showing it. He's keeping his outward sunny disposition but tries this passive aggressive tactic of pointing to another duo, another team, another set of buddy cops in the department. Bim and Ben. These guys are the servants of the entire police force — the "serve" you so seldom see in the "protect and serve;" not to mention how seldom we also see the "protect" bit. Anyways, when Bim and Ben aren't filing paperwork or patrolling the streets, these guys literally sweep all the floors before janitorial shifts begin. So much so that they even break their brooms with all of the sweeping. They rally the pigs to play in two separate bands, both percussive, but one's more of a drumline and the other more of a xylophone squad.
Knox isn't impressed. He sees through the comparison and doesn't care: he doesn't want a buddy or to be a buddy cop.
Fox does it again with another duo, Luke and Duck. These two lick clean water straight out of a single source aquifer nearby, in contrast with the superfund site from earlier. Knox doesn't buy this eaither and they spend time staring at each other eating cheese while the breeze blows through the flea infested trees.
Their talk's interrupted by a gang known as the Tweetle Beetles. Rather dumb name for a gang, considering the rest, but they start battling it with fists, then escalate to paddles, they end up in this warehouse-sized bottle they fill with muddled water. There's a French poodle that prefers Italian food. I'm only assuming the poodle's name is Shakespeare, because only a Romeo and Juliet opera would make sense of that poodle cameo at that point.
Knox is so fed up with all the passive aggression and the new energy of Fox that he throws him to the gang and locks the bottle warehouse.
Weirdest buddy cop novel ever, but there's a nice rhythm to it.
Fox points out early on how Knox puts himself in a box at the station. Knox responds by trying to get Fox in the same box. Fox responds by trying to get Knox to parade around the world in nothing but blue socks like himself. Knox ignores him.
So to get his attention, Officer Fox gets a whole bunch of chicks to come. Some are time bound type-A chicks. Some are creative, almost childish block building types. Others are blue collar brick layers. Fox tries to get Knox to let at least one of these chicks turn a trick for him.
Covering their blue collar and creative shifts at work, Fox gives the chicks time with Knox. Knox doesn't really respond to all of this, so Fox tries to get involved with the chicks too. Knox tells him he'd rather have a bedroom full of bricks than chicks, for all the good it does his detective work. He begs Fox off.
Who apologizes.
Then brings a single girl named Sue onto the crime scene, herself wearing socks and no shoes like a little fae creature. She's the kind of girl who does her own sewing.
"See?" Fox asks Knox.
Knox admits it's a rather difficult thing to do one's own sewing. But he waits too long.
Who comes? Crow comes. Slow Joe Crow comes. He's the kind of guy that can sew too and so he and Sue swap sewing. Fox tries to distract her by getting her to sew his sox and stay in the department.
But meanwhile, Slow Joe Crow catches Knox and sews him into that box he's built for himself. It's even worse now. Sue retaliates by sewing Slow Joe Crow's rose to him.
Knox gets tired of this and tries to go on a holiday.
Fox crashes it by taking him to this environmental disaster, this superfund site where the water of the river has turned to blue goo. Even the geese are eating the stuff. Fox, the naive youngster, encourages Knox to try some.
Knox sees it for what it is: poison. So he bails.
Fox at this point is sultry, but isn't showing it. He's keeping his outward sunny disposition but tries this passive aggressive tactic of pointing to another duo, another team, another set of buddy cops in the department. Bim and Ben. These guys are the servants of the entire police force — the "serve" you so seldom see in the "protect and serve;" not to mention how seldom we also see the "protect" bit. Anyways, when Bim and Ben aren't filing paperwork or patrolling the streets, these guys literally sweep all the floors before janitorial shifts begin. So much so that they even break their brooms with all of the sweeping. They rally the pigs to play in two separate bands, both percussive, but one's more of a drumline and the other more of a xylophone squad.
Knox isn't impressed. He sees through the comparison and doesn't care: he doesn't want a buddy or to be a buddy cop.
Fox does it again with another duo, Luke and Duck. These two lick clean water straight out of a single source aquifer nearby, in contrast with the superfund site from earlier. Knox doesn't buy this eaither and they spend time staring at each other eating cheese while the breeze blows through the flea infested trees.
Their talk's interrupted by a gang known as the Tweetle Beetles. Rather dumb name for a gang, considering the rest, but they start battling it with fists, then escalate to paddles, they end up in this warehouse-sized bottle they fill with muddled water. There's a French poodle that prefers Italian food. I'm only assuming the poodle's name is Shakespeare, because only a Romeo and Juliet opera would make sense of that poodle cameo at that point.
Knox is so fed up with all the passive aggression and the new energy of Fox that he throws him to the gang and locks the bottle warehouse.
Weirdest buddy cop novel ever, but there's a nice rhythm to it.
June 1, 2017
fun tongue twisting read!
March 30, 2010
The Seuss I read tonight...
I'm going to start reading this every night. And I'm going to time myself. My new goal in life is to always beat my previous best time. Ambitious, I know. I read it to my daughters 3 times tonight, each time faster than the last. What a rush.
I'll tell you what's messing me up... It's those brooms that Ben and Bim are carring around. They're REALLY bugging me.
I'm going to start reading this every night. And I'm going to time myself. My new goal in life is to always beat my previous best time. Ambitious, I know. I read it to my daughters 3 times tonight, each time faster than the last. What a rush.
I'll tell you what's messing me up... It's those brooms that Ben and Bim are carring around. They're REALLY bugging me.
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May 9, 2017I don't know what to rate this book!!!
I read this aloud to a 3-year-old I was babysitting, and I died.
At the beginning of the book, it says "danger." I should have been warned... "Fox in Socks" is a book full of tongue twisters, and long too. My mouth died. 62 times for 62 pages.
I read this aloud to a 3-year-old I was babysitting, and I died.
At the beginning of the book, it says "danger." I should have been warned... "Fox in Socks" is a book full of tongue twisters, and long too. My mouth died. 62 times for 62 pages.
March 19, 2010
Reading this book out loud is torture. Reading it 18 times in a row to a 3 year old is unspeakable. I think he wrote this book as a cruel prank toward parents.
October 7, 2017
A true classic, this children’s book engages the imaginative minds of young readers with its rhyming, tongue-twisting story. Still the best.
October 15, 2021
The irrepressible Fox in Socks teaches a baffled Mr. Knox some of the slickest, quickest tongue-twisters in town.
June 19, 2016
In Fox in Socks, Dr. Seuss poses a treacherous, but delightful linguistic challenge for adults and children alike. It is also the only work by the famous children's author prefaced with a warning: "This book is DANGEROUS!" Through a series of vignettes on diverse subjects, Dr. Seuss melds his trademark silliness with near-lethal tongue twisters, including a variant on the infamous "The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick."
Fox in Socks offers lots of opportunities for grownups. Read it in bed with your spouse for rejuvenating laughter after a rough day. Have a race with your friends to see who can recite the entire thing most quickly without error. You'll find inspiration here for any number of drinking games.
Teens and college students might find this book useful for English classes for which a poetry recitation is required. If you can rattle this thing off from memory, you'll demolish the competition and win lifelong adoration from everyone in your audience.
Fox in Socks offers lots of opportunities for grownups. Read it in bed with your spouse for rejuvenating laughter after a rough day. Have a race with your friends to see who can recite the entire thing most quickly without error. You'll find inspiration here for any number of drinking games.
Teens and college students might find this book useful for English classes for which a poetry recitation is required. If you can rattle this thing off from memory, you'll demolish the competition and win lifelong adoration from everyone in your audience.
April 27, 2020
My mom just read this to me over the phone when she spontaneously picked it up in her bedroom. I am 8 books behind my 2020 reading goal, lacking motivation to read because of the stress and lockdown here in NYC. I think this is the perfect way to increase motivation and catch up.
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