Vulpes, the Red Fox

Was one of my favorite books as a child, still enjoy the story years later. Gave the latest version to my granddaughter.

Like another reader here, I read "Vulpes" as a 10-year-old boy in '62 and loved to race around on my bike pretending to be him being chased everywhere. I grew up in the DC area and I know the general area where the story takes place. I bought this book filled with curiosity and nostalgia for a great kid's read, so 5 stars.Vulpes is the scientific name in Latin for the fox. We meet him at birth and follow him through his life as a young fox (although a rather glorified one, if you ask me). Vulpes is fast, clever, strong and handsome - perfect for hero-worshipping 10-year-olds! The human side is told through the efforts of several hunters and trappers who want to "bag" Vulpes for his pelt. Like "Never Cry Wolf", there are no good guys or bad guys here - only the struggle to survive for human and animal, even while you're rooting for Vulpes. Jean George puts you inside Vulpes' head as he makes decisions, and she articulates his feelings giving Vulpes a more human connection.Vulpes eventually finds his mate, Fulva, sires quite big brood of cubs (Vulpes, you big stud-muffin!) and ultimately meets his destiny and fate. You'll never think of foxes the same way again.

I read this book as a child and have gotten it so my grands can read it too. It is the story of a dog fox and his mate and their struggle to maintain life in the countryside where they lived and were often hunted. I believe this book is largely responsible for my respect for the red fox, and indeed all nature, and my understanding of the inter relatedness of the needs of species with each other.

read this as a child many years ago and got it for my grand daughter. Never forgot it, despite reading it 57 years ago.

Wonderful,

ok

Something about this book is mesmerizing. I've always been interested in foxes, and this fictionalized but still "real" look at them and their lives is fascinating. We see the main character grow from a baby to having babies of his own with his mate. We get to witness his feelings and creativity and intelligence, and the way he lives his life. We see the joie de vivre of a lively animal in its prime. Unfortunately I didn't like the ending very much, but it's still a great book.

It is an awful concept for a writer to write about the life of a majestic fox in the wild escaping hunters only to be killed at the ending. No kid wants to read about that. We want books that make our children happy not cry