ALA Booklist (Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 1995)

When Mom goes on vacation, leaving Fosdyke in charge of the fox hole, kits Flo, Floyd, Frank, and Freddy figure it's high time to test their farmyard foraging skills. Their futile endeavors, which Edwards raucously relays with a hearty dependence on words beginning with the letter F will have kids in stitches in no time. The tidy text bounces along nicely, and children are sure to enjoy identifying the objects beginning with F that Cole has cleverly worked into the sprightly paintings-- We counted at least 60. Can you do better? (Reviewed Sept. 1, 1995)

Horn Book

Five foxes are left on their own when their mother goes to Florida. Four of them go off hunting, but Fosdyke stays home to cook gourmet vegetarian food. In the end he wins his carnivorous siblings over. The illustrations are sprightly and fun, but the alliterative text is overburdened with its message and with sophisticated words--including 'fungi, fracas', and 'flambéed'--that will leave young readers flummoxed.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Cole's illustrations... add a healthy dose of energetic humor to the tongue-twister text,"""" said PW of this feisty alliterative tale. Ages 4-9. (May)

School Library Journal

Gr 1-3--A family of fox kits, left to fend for themselves when their mother sets off on a trip to Florida, plot to ...filch fowl from the farmyard.'' Between 4:15 and 5:15 a.m., they make three unsuccessful forays, winding up on the short end of the stick whether dealing with feathered fowl, a ferocious foxhound, or a furious farmer. Fortunately, their Francophile brother, Fosdyke, has stayed at home and prepared a delicious meal of flan, french fries, and figs. The foxes, whose expressive faces fade from bright-eyed mischievousness to frazzled chagrin, are engaging characters, and the nighttime scenes of the farm are effectively noir, but the device of using so manyF'' words wears thin well before the story does. The sound gag will also make reading the book aloud a formidable tongue-twisting task. Young browsers may enjoy looking for the 60-plus items beginning with the letter ``F.'' Or, they may just become frustrated.--Anna DeWind, Milwaukee Public Library