Little Foxes by Michael Morpurgo | Simple Story about Loss

Little Foxes was the last book of Michael Morpurgo on my bookshelf. As much as I do not want to read any more of his books, I do not have much to do.

So here we are.

With another Michael Morpurgo’s book review.

However, this book is much better than the last two.

Children Fiction

Little Foxes is purely children fiction. The book is not for me. I am very old to read this book.

The book is about the introvert orphan kid who lives his life jumping from one foster home to another. 

After getting tired of bullying and nagging, Billy likes to spend his time in a canal. With the rough wilderness beside it, Billy finds solace at the place, looking at Nature.

Here he becomes friends with the Swan and a family wolf.

Swan is a mysterious character in the book, and have omnipresence. I will come to symbolism later.

About the wolf family, Billy practically adopts them. He steals the food from his foster home to feed the cubs. But as they grow, they require more and more nutrition. Billy, as a kid, failed to provide them.

As a result, the foxes follow Billy to his school.

The town gets the news, and the hunter starts hunting them. With the last one Wolf, Billy ran from the house.

Michael Morpurgo does not write sad stories, so everything ends up good. Except for that one time in Private peaceful.

Billy found a boat, a barge, and an older man. Joe gives him shelter on his boat. Soon the wolf grows and leaves Billy.

This was the story going on in front. What’s in the backend.

Symbolism in Little Foxes

What I am going to say could be 100% false. So keep this in mind.

However, I do not treat the children’s book lightly. Authors are sneaky, and they hide many things behind the simple words.

It all started with the Swan.

That bird is shady. The bird represents Nature.

In the book, Nature is always present and protects Billy.

Sometimes, Nature is the rain, pushing and motivating Billy to move towards the river, sometimes its the river canal, coming between him and the Aunt.

It was also the forest that gives Billy friends, wolf.

In a way, we see the friendship between the kid and Nature grow more durable and stronger throughout the book.

Until he meets Joe.

Now Joe is human, living on his boat. Now I am going to ruin the little climax this book has, so I am moving safely.

Nature was raising the orphan kid. Billy was getting attached to Nature. The wolf was only the representation of that Nature.

The heart of Billy was still innocent, and having a strong attachment to anyone could break it.

Joe, here, brings Billy back to the world. The older man teaches the young boy the most important lesson of his life.

When he Wolf leaves the Billy, it was an indication of the life the Billy has lived all his life.

Everyone leaves him.

Joe, at that moment, by being a strong pillar in Billy’s life, show him that there are people who are ready to stand up for him. Stand by him.

Even when the wolf left, Joe prepares Billy for the upcoming misery.

The barge is itself set up the story for good. When Billy arrives at the barge, it was not working correctly. But as the Joe repair Billy, Billy repairs the barge.

Loss of Someone

This could be excellent for your kid if his pet has died recently. 

Michael Morpurgo takes a good take about the loss the kid suffer, and how to tackle it without crushing their heart.

Leave the kid; the book could be good for adults too if they are suffering from some loss, like, breakup, parents’ death, job termination, etc.

We can learn from the kid’s book as we all have a kid inside of us.

Finally, Swan comes back

In the end, we see the Swan, swimming in the night. 

Billy gets adopted by Joe, and life goes on.

Little Foxes is a short book. It is only 200 pages or less. You can finish it quickly in 2 hours.

So it is yes from my side. I recommend this book. Message me on Instagram for more suggestions.