5 fantastic fictional foxes, chosen by Grimwood author Nadia Shireen

Published on: 29 September 2021

Nadia Shireen's hilarious new book Grimwood follows two fantastic foxes - so we asked her to choose some of her other favourite foxes in fiction...

Hey everyone! My new book Grimwood is the story of two urban foxes who run away to the countryside. It's a crazy laugh riot!

Anyway, I thought it might be fun to share my list of GREAT BOOKS ABOUT FOXES. Here we go!

1. Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl

OBVIOUSLY this is one of the greatest books about foxes, as our hero - the somewhat unimaginatively named Mr Fox – tries to outwit evil farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean. Funny, but - in typical Dahl fashion - just a little scary here and there. The film version of this is good, too.

2. The Fox Cub Bold by Colin Dann

I absolutely loved the Animals Of Farthing Wood books when I was a child. The first book is about a gang of woodland animals who undertake a brave journey to find a new home after theirs is destroyed. The rest of the books explore the lives of the animals and eventually their children.

The Fox Cub Bold is the fourth book, about a fox cub called - well - Bold. The books are evocative, beautifully written and occasionally a total blub-fest.

3. Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins

Rosie the chicken goes for a wander, blissfully unaware that she is being pursued by a hungry fox on every page. I absolutely love the way Pat Hutchins illustrates the fox. It's such a witty picture book and so visually pleasing.

4. Fox in Socks by Dr Seuss

'Socks on Knox and Knox in box. Fox in socks on box on Knox.' Um, WHAT? What are you actually TALKING about, Dr Seuss?

I love this book but it makes no sense whatsoever, and you need to buy into the concept that somebody could be walking around with the name 'Knox'. Also, I'm not convinced Dr Seuss is a medical professional.

5. Gaspard the Fox by Zeb Soanes and James Mayhew

This is a much nicer account of life as an urban fox that the slightly grotty one I deliver in Grimwood. We follow the adventures of a very handsome city fox called Gaspard as he trots around London.

Beautifully illustrated by James Mayhew, Gaspard is based on a real life fox the author Zeb Soanes made friends with. Why don't I ever get to make friends with foxes? Whenever I see one they run away. Maybe I smell funny.

Read our review of Grimwood