Accelerated Literacy - Fantastic Mr Fox
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These notes are for the book Fantastic Mr Fox with illustrations by Quinten
Blake. The chapter notes are from the Fantastic Mr Fox: Teaching Notes as
prepared by the Schools and Community Centre in Canberra. These teaching
notes were prepared for a version of Fantastic Mr Fox that used a different
illustrator.
Chapter 1 - The Three Farmers
Chapter Orientation
(From notes pp.9-10)
As the title says, this chapter is about the three farmers who are important characters in the story.
The way Roald Dahl introduces them and describes them tells us that they are the villains of the
story. In this chapter we also find out where the three farmers live. There are three farms in a valley
in this story. Roald Dahl does not tell us where the valley is, just that down in the valley there are
three farms. As you would expect that means that there were three farmers and Roald Dahl tells us
straight away that they were rich men and very nasty. The author makes sure that we know right at
the beginning of the book that these farmers were horrible people. We do not have to make up our
own minds about this. Then Roald Dahl describes each of the farmers for us so we know exactly
how horrible they are. The farmers’ names are Boggis, Bunce and Bean and we meet each of these
nasty men in Chapter 1.
There are some pictures in this book so we will start by looking at the pictures in Chapter 1. That
way we know what the pictures tell us about the story.
Illustrations
Page 1
Have a look at the first picture. There are three men standing around talking to each other. These
are the farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean. The fat man is Farmer Boggis, the short one is Farmer
Bunce and the tall one is Farmer Bean. Do they look like very happy men? No they don’t. Look at
their expressions. They look cranky and very unpleasant and Bean looks like he’s annoyed with
something. Can you see where they’re standing? At the bottom of the hills in the valley where their
farms probably are.It seems like quite a nice place.
Page 2
Now we can see the picture the illustrator of this book drew of Boggis. Boggis is a chicken farmer
and a very fat one. The reason he is so fat is that he eats three boiled chickens every day for
breakfast, lunch and dinner. Boggis must have thousands of chicken if he eats three for every meal.
If you look closely you can also see a bowl of round things. These are dumplings that he eats with
his chickens. Dumplings are just flour, butter and water mixed together and boiled in the water with
the chickens until they are both cooked. Imagine eating that every day! No wonder he’s so fat and
so grumpy. He looks very nasty and Roald Dahl doesn’t want us to like him.
Page 3
This next farmer we meet is Bunce. Bunce is a duck and goose farmer, and like Boggis he has
thousands of them. His favourite food is doughnuts and goose livers. He takes the livers out of his
geese, mashes them up, stuffs the paste into the doughnuts, then eats them. See how he’s using a
Notes prepared by Marianne Bunt, Boggabilla Central School, 2001
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------knife to put the mashed livers into the doughnuts? I should think that eating goose livers in
doughnuts would be very bad for him and they give him a tummy-ache. It’s his tummy-ache that
gives him a beastly temper. See how his face looks means like Boggis’s?
We can tell something else about Bunce from this picture. We can tell something about his size.
Look how he is standing on a chair to reach the table. A tall man wouldn’t have to do that would
he?1. So what could you guess about his size? Yes, he is really small. He was also fat and Roald
Dahl calls him a kind of pot-bellied dwarf, which means he is very short and has a big tummy.
Page 4
Now, the last farmer we see is Bean. If you look behind Bean you can see some turkeys and some
trees with apples in them. Bean is a turkey and apple farmer. His turkeys live in the apple orchard,
which is a special name for a place where fruit trees are grown. But Bean doesn’t eat the turkeys. In
fact he doesn’t eat anything at all. All he does is drink, just like in the picture. He drinks cider
which is what’s inside the flagon (what a large bottle for cider is) and the barrel. Cider is made from
the juice of squashed apples, which he had lots of in his orchard. In fact, Bean drinks gallons of
cider (gallons is an old way of measuring and one gallon is the same as almost five cartons of
milk).
You can see how thin Farmer Bean is from not eating. He’s as thin as a pencil, unlike Boggis and
Bean, but he’s just as nasty and mean as them. Roald Dahl tells us that Bean is the cleverest- that’s
the smartest- of the three farmers.
Page 5
In the last picture of chapter one we can see three children laughing and calling out to someone.
They are singing:
“ Boggis and Bunce and Bean
One fat, one short, one lean.
Those horrible crooks
So different in looks
Were nonetheless equally mean.”
So we end this chapter knowing that absolutely no one likes these three farmers who live on three
farms in the valley. They all have horrible habits and Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake have made
sure that we do not like them.
In the next chapter we meet the hero of this book, Mr Fox.
Let’s read Chapter 1...
Chapter 2 - Mr Fox
Chapter Orientation
(See notes pp.12-13)
This chapter introduces the hero of the story, Mr Fox. We find out where he lives and who is in his
family. We also find out why the three farmers hate Mr Fox so much. This chapter is still part of the
orientation of the book where we find out about the important characters, where they live and what
their relationships are.
We will also see what information we can find in the pictures to help us understand the stories.
Notes prepared by Marianne Bunt, Boggabilla Central School, 2001
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Illustrations
Pages 6-7
The chapter starts by telling us where the fox family live. In the first chapter we found out that the
farms were in a valley. Well there was also a wood on a hill above the valley and the foxes lived in
a hole under a tree in the wood. A wood is like a scrub with trees and bushes.
This picture shows Mr Fox leaning against the tree talking to Mrs Fox. They are talking about what
Mrs Fox would like Mr Fox to catch for dinner. You can just see two of the small foxes listening
behind Mrs Fox. Do they look happy? Yes, they do. Look at their smiles. The Fox family are all
happy. They are happy with each other throughout the story.
Now have a close look at Mr Fox and Mrs Fox. What are they wearing? They are wearing clothes
just like people are. Mr Fox has a jacket and vest on and a spotted bandana tied around his neck. He
looks quite smart and handsome. We can see Mrs Fox is wearing a dress with long sleeves and a
high collar. They both look very nice and proper.
Page 8
Here is Mr Fox, off to catch dinner. What time is it? Yes, it’s night time because we can see the
moon. Remember, foxes are nocturnal meaning that they like to hunt at night. And even though the
Foxes wear clothes and do things in the story like people do, they still behave like animals in other
ways. One way is that they don’t have any money to buy food. So Mr Fox has to hunt for his
family’s dinner just like a real fox and here he is off to get it. Of course the most convenient place
for him to hunt is from Boggis, Bunce and Bean’s farms and this makes the farmers very cross
because Mr Fox is so clever at taking their chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks. See Mr Fox’s face.
He doesn’t look at all scared or worried about being caught because he knows he’s too clever for
the farmers.
Page 9
Now we see Boggis, Bunce and Bean talking about what they are going to do about Mr Fox. Every
night they wait in the woods to shoot Mr Fox (see their rifles?), but Mr Fox can smell them and
knows where to go so he won’t get hurt. This is making the farmers very cranky and here they are
trying to come up with a better plan to catch and kill Mr Fox. Bean has come up with a plan
because he is the cleverest of the three and in this picture we see him telling Boggis and Bunce what
it is.
Now we’ll read Chapter 2, Mr Fox.
Chapter 3 - The Shooting
Chapter Orientation
(See notes pp.12-13)
The next chapter tells us about what happens when things start to go wrong for Mr Fox. What Mr
Fox didn’t realise before was that the farmers have a plan to kill him. He is a bit overconfident and
his overconfidence almost lead to tragedy for him. We find out what happened in this chapter. It is
the start of the problem or the complication in this book.
Illustrations
Page 10
In this picture we can see Mrs Fox talking to Mr Fox. She’s telling him she would like two ducks
for dinner. See the smile on Mr Fox’s face and the hand on his hip? He looks very pleased to be
Notes prepared by Marianne Bunt, Boggabilla Central School, 2001
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------able to do this for his family. He is relaxed and confident, meaning that he knows he can do it
without any problems.
Page 11
And here is Mr Fox going off to catch the ducks. He’s always very careful when he leaves his hole
under the tree and you can see him just poking his head out. He’s sniffing for any danger before he
comes all the way out.
Page 13
Remember Boggis, Bunce and Bean’s plan to hide outside Mr Fox’s hole? Well that’s exactly what
they done and when Mr Fox was all the way out of his hole they shot at him. But just before they
did Mr Fox realised what was going to happen and quickly ran back into his hole. The farmers
however did get part of Mr Fox. See Boggis holding something? What is it? Yes, it’s a torch and his
shining it on the bit of Mr Fox that they managed to get. What do you think it is? We’ll have to wait
until we read this chapter to see if you’re right. But the three farmers sure don’t look too happy with
what they got. Remember, they wanted to kill Mr Fox.
Page 14
In this picture Boggis, Bunce and Bean are talking about what happened and what they are going to
do next. Look at lean Bean. Here he is taking a swig (that’s a mouthful) of cider from a flask he had
in his pocket. He’s telling Boggis and Bunce about his new plan because he says it would be three
days before Mr Fox came out again and he doesn’t want to wait that long.
Now let’s read Chapter 3, The Shooting.
Chapter 4 - The Terrible Shovels
Chapter Orientation
(See notes p.15)
In this chapter we find out how Mr Fox copes with the loss of his tail. Luckily he has Mrs Fox to be
very kind to him. Another lucky thing is that while he was awake with the pain in the stump of his
tail he heard something terrible. He heard the three farmers digging towards the Fox family with
shovels and they have to escape.
Illustrations
Page 15
In the picture we can see Mrs Fox lifting Mr Fox’s jacket up and caring for the stump left behind
from his tail being shot off. Can you see what Mrs Fox is poking out? Her tounge, that’s right. She
is licking the stump better. That’s what foxes and other animals do when they’re hurt. The four little
foxes look very sad and concerned about their father, and Mr Fox looks like he is in pain.
Pages 16-17
We can see all of the Fox family on these pages looking at something with very frightened faces.
What can you see that is scaring them so much? Yes, at the top of the picture you can see the shovel
that Boggis, Bunce and Bean are digging with has just came through the ceiling in their home. You
can see bits of dirt falling down. The farmers will have caught them in a moment which has an
electric effect upon Mr Fox and makes him spring into action.
Page 18
Notes prepared by Marianne Bunt, Boggabilla Central School, 2001
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Can you see what Mr Fox decided to do? He started digging a hole to get away from the three
farmers. He knows that foxes can dig faster than people. Mrs Fox sees what her husband id doing
and joins him, and then the four small foxes also start digging. They are digging really fast. Can you
see how the illustrator showed us this? Yes, we can see lots of dirt flying everywhere. They are
digging downwards as deep as they can go.
Now we’ll read The Terrible Shovels.
Chapter 5 - The Terrible Tractors
Chapter Orientation
(See notes p.15)
Even though the foxes were still free the three horrible farmers did not give up trying to kill them.
This time the farmers fetch their tractors with mechanical shovels (‘brutal looking monsters’) and
start to dig. All the fox family can do is keep on digging.
Illustrations
Page 21
Boggis is fed up with digging and in this picture you can see drops of sweat coming off him. Bunce
has also had enough and he is telling Bean so. Look closely at Bean. Now not only is he lean, mean
and clever but he is also very dirty. He never takes a bath and Roald Dahl tells us his ears are
“clogged with muck and wax and bits of chewing-gum and dead flies”. Quentin Blake, the
illustrator, has drawn Bean with bits of things falling out of his ears. He is trying to listen to Bunce
and Bunce is shouting to him asking if he’s got any more stupid ideas. Bean does. He says they
need “machines... mechanical shovels.”
Pages 22-23
While Boggis watched the hole, Bunce and Bean went and got their enormous black tractors. See
how big they are and terrible looking. They look like monsters. You can see the tree where Mr
Fox’s hole was has been toppled over very easily as if it were just a matchstick. Just look at the
damage Bunce and Bean are doing with their tractors! There’s dirt and rocks flying and trees being
destroyed. It won’t take long for these mechanical shovels to dig the foxes out.
Chapter 6 - The Race
Chapter Orientation
(See notes p.15)
Now there is a desperate race between the machines and the Foxes. The pictures are as important in
this chapter as the words. The writing refers to the pictures and shows how the hill where the Fox
family had their burrow is completely dug away. All the people in the village think the three
farmers are quite mad, but still they won’t give up trying to catch the Foxes.
Illustrations
The illustrations are part of the story in this chapter. Read each page then talk about the
accompanying picture.
Page 24
Notes prepared by Marianne Bunt, Boggabilla Central School, 2001
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------You can see the hill is quite high and there is only a little hole at the top where the tree has been
knocked out.
Page 25
Have a look at this page and then look at the hill on page 24. Can you see that a lot of the top and
the side of the hill have been dug away in just an hour? And although we can’t see the foxes, in the
next part of the story Roald Dahl tells us that they are digging away- sometimes ahead of the
farmers, sometimes almost getting caught.
Page 26
The hill is now almost completely gone. The land is almost flat. Check back to page 24 to see how
much they have dug. But still Bunce and Bean dig on. They can’t seem to stop. A madness has
come over them and they’re determined to get Mr Fox.
Page 27
The hill has certainly gone and now we can see a big crater being made, like at the top of a volcano.
They have been digging for hours but still they don’t give up.
[Look at the picture on page 28 before reading.]
Page 28
Look at all the people standing at the edge of the crater. They have come from the surrounding
villages to look at the extraordinary sight made by the farmer’s digging. They think that the farmers
are crazy for what they are doing and laugh and jeer them (meaning calling them names and telling
them how silly they are). Since Boggis, Bunce and Bean are so nasty and mean this only makes
them more furious and determined to keep digging until they caught the foxes.
Do chapters 7 and 8 in one lesson
Chapter 7 - ‘We’ll Never Let Him Go’
Chapter Orientation
(See notes p.15)
In this chapter the frantic action of the race stops while the three farmers decide on their next move.
They have to face the fact that they have failed to dig the Foxes out but they still promise each other
that they will camp at the Fox’s hole until they catch Mr Fox. Then they make a new dreadful plan.
Illustrations
Page 30
In this picture Bean is telling Bunce of one plan he has to get the foxes- to send Bunce down the
hole after them! Bean likes this idea (see his sickly smile, which tells us he is stirring Bunce) but
does Bunce look very happy about it? No he doesn’t. He runs away saying he won’t do it. So Bean
comes up with a different plan.
Chapter 8 - The Foxes Begin To Starve
Chapter Orientation
(See notes p.15)
Notes prepared by Marianne Bunt, Boggabilla Central School, 2001
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Now the farmers put their plan to starve the Fox family into action. They set up a camp and eat their
dinners outside the entrance to the hole. Mr Fox stand firm not to let his family go out and risk their
lives.
Illustrations
Page 32
This time we see the tractors but they aren’t digging madly. Bunce and Bean have turned the lights
on so they can see the hole and watch if the foxes come out. Of course the foxes could come out
somewhere else, so the farmers order their workers to surround the hill and watch for the foxes with
flashlights (their torches) and guns.
Chapter 9 - Mr fox Has A Plan
Chapter Orientation
True to their word Boggis, Bunce and Bean wait for Mr Fox to come out. They wait for three days
and nights as the Fox family begin to starve. The little foxes plead for food and water put their
parents won’t let them risk their lives by going out. Finally Mr Fox comes up with a plan to get
them all food and water, but it’ll mean more digging for them.
Illustrations
Page 34
We can see in the first illustration that the children are pulling on Mrs Fox’s sleeve, pleading with
her to let them go out and get some food. Of course she is refusing and says she would prefer that
they died in the hole than by the guns.
Page 36
Have a look at Mr Fox’s eyes. They are looking up like he’s just come up with an idea. Mrs Fox
and the small foxes are looking at him hopefully. After all, Mr Fox is very clever - like all foxes are
- and he has saved them so far. He is the hero of the story so we know that he will probably think of
some way to stop his family from being starved or shot to death.
Page 37
In this picture Mr Fox has told his children that his plan requires more digging but that he thinks
they are too weak to do it. But look at the foxes. Do they look like they don’t want to help? No, the
small foxes are excited and really want to help Mr Fox.
The digging is a part of Mr Fox’s plan. Let’s read about it.
Chapter 10 - Boggis’s Chicken House Number One
Chapter Orientation
In the last chapter we read about Mr Fox and the small foxes digging again as part of Mr Fox’s plan
to get the family food and water. We find out in this chapter that they are digging to somewhere
special. The title of this chapter is Boggis’s Chicken House Number One. This gives us a clue as to
where they are digging to. Mr Fox is trying to get them to dig a hole that will come up under one of
Boggis’s chicken houses. They need to dig up exactly under it so that no one will see them. Mr Fox
is not sure that they can do it so he doesn’t tell the children where they are going in case they’ll be
too disappointed if they don’t find it. Now we’ll have a look at the illustrations.
Notes prepared by Marianne Bunt, Boggabilla Central School, 2001
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Illustrations
Page 37
We can see in this picture the four little foxes and Mr Fox digging a tunnel. They are not going as
fast as at the start of the story because they haven’t got the strength.
Page 38
Have a look at the tunnel now. Do you notice something different about it? It’s going up now
instead of down. The foxes have finally came to the spot that Mr Fox hopes is under Boggis’s
chicken house number one. If you look at Mr Fox’s hand you’ll see he’s pushing up on something.
It’s actually planks of wood he is pushing and that is why the foxes stopped digging. The small
foxes are looking up with hopeful expressions.
Page 39
Very carefully Mr Fox has pushed up two planks of wood and has only just poked his head up to
have a look that he is in the right place. What else might he be looking for? That’s right, he might
be checking that Boggis, Bunce and Bean are not waiting for him, or someone else. If you turn to
the next page you will see what Mr Fox found.
Page 41
What did he find? That’s right, the chicken house. We know he must be there. Just look at all the
chickens! You can see lots of chooks in three levels and the roof of the house. The chickens look
stunned to see him and a bit frightened by the way he’s acting. Of course Mr Fox is absolutely
excited. He is prancing and dancing with joy and even says that he must be rather clever to find it
first go. Down the bottom you can see the four fox children having a look and they look very happy
and surprised too.
Page 42
Have a look at one of the small foxes. He is Mr Fox’s eldest son. What is he holding? He has three
of the chickens from the chicken house. They are all now back down in the tunnel and Mr Fox is
asking him to take them back to Mrs Fox so that she can prepare a feast. He and the other three
have a few other arrangements to make before they join them.
This is an important and exciting chapter because it is the start of Roald Dahl’s resolution for the
story; how the foxes fix their problem of being trapped and hungry. Let’s read it.
Chapter 11 - A Surprise for Mrs Fox
Chapter Orientation
The eldest little fox has done as his dad asked and ran all the way back to his mum with the three fat
hens. Mrs Fox though is weaker than ever and thinks she is dreaming at first when she sees the
chickens. Once she realises they are real she is very happy and says what a fantastic fox Mr Fox is.
While she prepares the meal Mr Fox is getting the other three foxes ready for the next part of his
plan.
Illustrations
Page 37
So in the first picture we see the small fox has found his mother and is holding all the chickens
(which are as big as he is). He is very excited and proud of what he’s done. But look at poor Mrs
Notes prepared by Marianne Bunt, Boggabilla Central School, 2001
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Fox. She looks very tired and weak. She can only just manage to sit up and open one eye to look at
what the little fox has. At first she thinks she’s dreaming.
Page 38
At last Mrs Fox realises she is not dreaming and we see here she has jumped up and is very excited
about what the small fox has. The sight of the chickens seems to give her new strength. It is indeed
a surprise for her.
Now we’ll read about the surprise for Mrs Fox.
Chapter 12 - Badger
Field Knowledge
This chapter introduces several animals that the students are unlikely to know; badgers, weasels and
moles. Read some information about them to the class and show them pictures. Emphasis that they
are all animal that burrow in the ground. Or briefly conduct a class research project prior to reading
this chapter.
Chapter Orientation
In this chapter we find out what the next part of Mr Fox’s plan is. He and the small foxes continue
to dig. The thought of what they have done so far makes them dig fast but also laugh when they
think of Boggis, Bunce and Bean sitting outside waiting while they steal their food.
Now as they are digging this new tunnel a head pops through the roof. It is Badger, a friend of Mr
Fox, who is another animal who lives underground in the valley with his valley. Badger is very
angry with Mr Fox because he can’t get his family any food because of the men waiting with their
guns. He tells Mr Fox that they aren’t the only ones starving but Weasel, Rabbit, Mole and all their
families are also starving. Mr Fox tells Badger about how his children and him stole the chickens
and he invites all the digging animals to a feast. He asks Badger to help him dig while his son
(Small Badger) goes invites everyone to dinner.
Illustrations
Page 45
On page 45 we can see Mr Fox and three of the small foxes digging the second tunnel. Look at their
happy expressions. They are thinking of the feast to come and are digging quickly so that they can
go back to Mrs Fox and the eldest son to eat.
Page 46
In this picture we can see Mr Fox and one of the little foxes have turned around to look at someone
talking to them. They look a little worried and surprised because until they turned around they
wouldn’t have known who it was. What animal can you see poking its head through the roof of the
tunnel? A badger, that’s right. This is Badger, Mr Foxes friend. On the next page you can see
Badger talking to Mr Fox.
Page 47
Badger is telling Mr Fox about how terrible it is outside and all the problems the digging animals
are having. Badger looks frightened and anxious and Mr Fox is looking very concerned. Have a
close look at Badgers side. You can see a small badger which is Badger’s son. He looks scared just
like his father.
Notes prepared by Marianne Bunt, Boggabilla Central School, 2001
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Pages 48-49
Now the Badgers don’t look so scared. They are listening carefully to Mr Fox who is excitedly
telling them of what he and his children done. Badger looks like he can’t quite believe what Mr Fox
is telling him, but in the last picture of this chapter Small Badger is waving goodbye as he goes off
to invite all the digging animals to feast with the Foxes. Let’s read about it now.
Chapter 13 - Bunce’s Giant Storehouse
Chapter Orientation
This chapter is called Bunce’s Giant Storehouse. A storehouse is a big place like a shed where
things are kept. Bunce’s storehouse must be enormous since the title says it is giant. Inside it Bunce
keeps thousands and thousands of ducks and geese ready to eat. This is where Mr Fox, the little
foxes and Badger have been digging to, and just like the chicken house, they have come up
underneath it. Mr Fox wanted to come here to get more food and they find the great big room has
more food than they could have dreamed of, even ham, bacon and carrots. They take some but not
too much because they don’t want Bunce to become suspicious of what they’re up to.
Illustrations
Pages 50-51
You can the foxes have dug a tunnel and have come to the end. Once again Mr Fox is pushing up
on some floorboards. Everyone looks very happy and excited to see what is on the other side of the
boards.
Pages 52-53
Badger, Mr Fox and the fox children are inside Bunce’s storeroom. Look at how much stuff there
is! The illustrator has drawn lots of shelves full of food and a very high ladder to show just how big
the room must be. If you look at the top you can even see food (it looks like ham) hanging down
from the ceiling. Badger looks awestruck while the foxes are all excited. The girl fox looks like
she’s ready to run up the ladder to start feasting.
Page 55
Mr Fox and Badger are working together in this picture to put food in a sack to take back to the
feast. They are now very happy.
Page 56
They have all collected the food that they want which is in tall pile. There must be a lot of food
there. Mr Fox is looking around to see if he has everything they need for now.
Page 57
Mr Fox still has one more place to visit so he asks two of his children to take the food back to Mrs
Fox to prepare for the feast. There must have been some trolleys in Bunce’s storeroom because we
can see in this picture that the food has been put on to two trolleys which they are happily pushing
away.
Now we’ll read about Bunce’s Giant Storeroom.
Chapter 14- Badger has doubts
Notes prepared by Marianne Bunt, Boggabilla Central School, 2001
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapter Orientation
Sometimes when you think you might be doing something that’s not quite right you are said to be
having doubts. And Badger is having doubts about what they are doing. Before all the trouble
started, Badger was a very respectable badger who didn’t steal. He is having doubts because he
thinks that they shouldn’t be stealing from Boggis, Bunce and Bean. Mr Fox reminds him that the
farmers would like to kill the animals and that what they are trying to do is save their families from
dying. Badger understands that Mr Fox is right.
Illustrations
Pages 59
There is only one picture in this chapter and it simply shows Mr Fox trying to reassure Badger that
it is not so bad what they are doing.
Chapter 15 - Bean’s Secret Cider Cellar
Chapter Orientation
So far Mr Fox has visited Boggis’s chicken house number one and Bunce’s giant storeroom to
collect food for a feast for his family and all the digging animals. Everyone must be very hungry
having not eaten for days, but Mr Fox is not yet finished. Where hasn’t he been to? Right. He hasn’t
been to Bean’s farm yet. I wonder what he’s after now? They seem to have a lot of food, so he’s
probably not after the turkeys. But besides being hungry all the animals are thirsty. In this part of
the story Mr Fox wants to get some cider for everyone to have a drink. He knows that Bean has a
secret cellar (a cellar is an underground storeroom which is a good, cool place to keep drinks. Rat
lives in the cellar and doesn’t want to let them in but Mr Fox tells him he’ll eat him if he doesn’t
move- which he does very quickly.
When Mr Fox, Badger and the small fox go inside they find shelves upon shelves of cider. Mr Fox
wants to take some, saying that it’ll turn the feast into a banquet (a large meal for celebrating). They
each try a little bit and find that it is liquor- a type of alcohol like wine. Rat complains about them
poaching (another word for stealing) the drink but Mr Fox tells him he is drunk.
Illustrations
Page 61
Remember when the foxes and Badger finished digging they came to a brick wall where the cellar
was. You can see in this illustration that Mr Fox has removed a brick and out of it popped Rat. Does
Rat look like a very pleasant creature? No he doesn’t. He looks nasty and mean like Boggis, Bunce
and Bean. He’s shrieking at Mr Fox that he doesn’t want them in his cellar.
Pages 62-63
But they do go in the cellar and in the picture you can see them looking happily up at the shelves
full of bottles of apple cider. If you look closely you can even see Mr Fox licking his lips. Imagine
how thirsty they must be. And the little fox is certainly happy in the picture on the next page when
he realises it is cider that they have found.
Page 64
While Badger and Mr Fox are talking the Smallest Fox has taken a bottle of cider from the shelf,
uncorked it, and here we can see him taking a drink of it. He think it is great.
Page 65
Notes prepared by Marianne Bunt, Boggabilla Central School, 2001
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Accelerated Literacy - Fantastic Mr Fox
LOBO Chapter and Illustration Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Mr Fox takes the flagon from his son and in the picture we can see him having a drink of it. It must
taste amazing. He says it is miraculous, fabulous and beautiful. You can see Badger is eagerly
awaiting his turn.
Page 66
Meanwhile, Rat is shrieking and yelling at them to leave his cider alone. Look at how angry he
looks in the picture. It is no wonder Mr Fox thinks he is drunk. Rat has a tube going into one of the
bottles and he must have just been having a drink from it because there is a drop falling. Since he
has a tube he must drink the cider very often.
It’s time to read about Mr Fox, Smallest Fox and badger’s adventures in the secret cider
cellar.
Chapter 16 - The Woman
Chapter Orientation
At the end of the last chapter the animals heard someone coming down the cellar steps. The animals
quickly hide behind the bottles and watch as a huge woman comes in. She is probably one of
Bean’s cooks as she carries a big rolling pin and Mrs Bean keeps calling out to her. She is sent
down to get more cider for Bean. Her name is Mabel and her and Mrs Bean keep yelling about what
they’ll do with the fox when he is caught. She almost discovers Mr Fox and the Smallest Fox hiding
but luckily leaves before she does. The foxes and Badger grab a bottle of cider each and quickly
leave to go to the feast.
Illustrations
Page 67
This is a picture of Mabel and she is certainly a huge woman, just like Roald Dahl describes her. In
her hand you can see she is carrying a rolling pin and she does not look too pleasant.
Page 68
Mabel is taking down a bottle of cider in this picture; the bottle next to the one Mr Fox, the Smallest
Fox and Badger are hiding behind. Can you see them peeking out? Mr Fox looks very worried that
they’ll be discovered. You can only just see Badger’s nose and the Smallest Fox’s eye.
Page 70
Look at how scared the two foxes are hiding behind the bottle. Mabel is calling out to Mrs Bean
asking if she should get another bottle (which would be the one the foxes are hiding behind). Mr
Fox is thinking that they’ll soon be found.
Page 71
Rat is still yelling at the foxes and Badger, even though Mabel said she is going to put rat poison
down after smelling a rat in the cellar. He is still holding the drinking tube as he is calling the other
animals thieves, robbers, bandits and burglars.
This chapter is full of suspense. Let’s read it now.
Chapter 17- The Great Feast
Chapter Orientation
Notes prepared by Marianne Bunt, Boggabilla Central School, 2001
12
Accelerated Literacy - Fantastic Mr Fox
LOBO Chapter and Illustration Notes
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------At last, after all the hard work and adventures Mr fox has been on, he, his son and Badger finally
join the other animals for the great feast. Remember, everyone has been starving since Boggis,
Bunce and Bean started trying to kill Mr Fox and now they are about to eat and drink things from
the very men who want to kill them. There are the foxes, badgers, rabbits, moles and weasels all
gathered for the feast. Everyone is very cheery and thankful for Mr Fox’s cunningness.
So now part of the main complication (of the animals being trapped and starving or leaving their
underground homes to risk being shot and killed) has been solved in Roald Dahl’s telling of this
story. However, there is still one problem. What are they going to do for now on?
Illustrations
Pages 72-73
The picture on these two pages shows Mr Fox, the Smallest Fox and Badger running quickly along
the tunnel with their bottles of cider. As they are running, Mr Fox and Badger make up songs and
are singing them. They are very excited about nearly being back with the others and having the
feast.
Pages 74-75
On these pages you can see that they have just arrived to the feast. Some of the animals must have
done some digging. Look at the big room they’ve made and the huge table. Seated around it are all
the digging animals. There is lots of food on the table and food on the animals’ plates. they have
only just started the feast and everyone looks happy to at last be eating and to see Mr Fox, Smallest
Fox and Badger.
Page 76
Badger is raising his cup above his head. He is proposing a toast to Mr Fox for saving their lives.
Page 77
Mrs Fox is shown here making a very short speech saying her husband is “A FANTASTIC FOX”.
Mr Fox is now making a toast and as he begins he lets out a tremendous (huge) belch (that’s a
burp).
Page 78
Mr Fox is finishing his speech and thanking everyone, while Mrs Fox looks on proudly.
Page 79
Mr Fox has made an announcement which will finally resolve all the complications in the story. Do
you think the animals like his idea? It sure looks like they do. You can see the animals cheering and
smiling. In their happiness they have thrown things up into the air. Roald Dahl tells us that this
cheering goes on for several minutes.
We’ll read this chapter to find out what Mr Fox’s resolution was.
Chapter 18- Still Waiting
Chapter Orientation
This is the last chapter of the story Fantastic Mr Fox. This is the conclusion to the story and tells us
what happens to Boggis, Bunce and Bean.
Notes prepared by Marianne Bunt, Boggabilla Central School, 2001
13
Accelerated Literacy - Fantastic Mr Fox
LOBO Chapter and Illustration Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Illustrations
Page 80
We can see the three farmers sitting around still waiting for Mr Fox to come out. Remember they
made a deal to stay until they got him and that’s what it looks like they are doing. They have tents
set up to sleep in when they are tired and stools to sit on while they watch and wait. Their guns are
also ready to shoot Mr Fox as soon as he comes out. It is also raining quite hard in the picture and
puddles are forming on the ground. But still Boggis, Bunce and Bean wait, even though they look
extremely glum.
Page 81
This is the final picture that Quentin Blake has illustrated in this book. It shows that night has fallen
and it is still raining. There is a huge puddle that Boggis, Bunce and Bean are sitting in, but they
still sit and wait.
Now let’s read the final chapter of Fantastic Mr Fox and see how Roald Dahl concludes his
story.
Notes prepared by Marianne Bunt, Boggabilla Central School, 2001
14