SongS, pictureS and lyricS from the life of one extraordinary fox

a book and cd created by children from across the united Kingdom together with:

muSic russell hepplewhiteilluStrationS neil irish

WordS tim yealland

foxtaleSS

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BooK creditS

muSic russell hepplewhiteilluStration neil irishWordS tim yeallandgraphic deSign Joana monteiro

producer tim yeallandorganiSation alexa hillsprint tbc

cd creditS

clarinet / BaSSoon Steve Burnett KeyBoard russell hepplewhite cello rebecca hewesflute michael hsin-en liu percuSSion Scott lumsdaine tromBone miguel tantos

producer dan gareh, york Street music

With Special thanKS to

Jan allen, Julie allen, helen Baker, João Bicker, Sally Burlingham, rebecca crowsley, rupert derham, elaine elliott, clare field, heather gosney, Stephanie gothard, Sally groves, Sally hope, clare hoskins, Joseph Karaviotis, dominic Kraemer, alison ling, little angel theatre company, carrie maynard, liz mazzola, claire mccusker, Zoltán molnár, ted morris, James morison, alana mullen, ursula owen, Suki powar, genevieve raghu, roald dahl museum, lisa rudd, holly Sayer, Sue Selwood, donald Sturrock, elizabeth Stuttard, nick Sullivan, geraldine teer, robin turner, Stuart Vaughan, anna Vrahimi, Julie Ward

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contentS

08. the itchy twitchy Song child’s hill School, cricklewood, london

10. the mole St patrick’s primary School, holywood, northern ireland

12. Beware of the poacher north elmham Vc primary School, norfolk

14. the Stream St luke’s primary School, cambridge

16. fox 1 St andrews c of e primary School, crawley, West Sussex

18. the fox cross code Biggin c of e primary School, Biggin, derbyshire

20. fox School arbury primary School, cambridge

22. Song to the moon norwich high School for girls, norfolk

24. fox trap newton poppleford primary School, devon

26. if you can’t get to Sleep Whitemoor community primary School, St austell, cornwall

28. the tightrope Burbage primary School, Buxton, derbyshire

30. the trifle tower all Saints ceVa primary School, laxfield, Suffolk

32. the north pole St andrews c of e primary School, crawley, West Sussex

34. the african dream Knockmore primary School, lisburn, northern ireland

36. a parliament of foxes archbishop Benson School, truro, cornwall

38. Sensational fox rockmount primary School, croydon, london

40. the leprechaun all Saints ceVa primary School, laxfield, Suffolk

42. a fox at the fair St nicholas c of e Junior School, Sidmouth, devon

44. up the ladder Winchcombe abbey c of e primary School, gloucestershire

46. hyper fox Woden primary School, Wolverhampton, West midlands

48. dangercubs east park Junior School, Wolverhampton, West midlands

50. laika the Spacedog charlton Kings Junior School, cheltenham, gloucestershire

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introduction

this book contains words, images and a cd of songs based on the life of one amazing fox. it was created by children from primary schools across england and northern ireland. children from the schools also performed on stage in english touring opera’s professional production of tobias picker’s fantastic mr fox in 2011, an opera based on roald dahl’s famous story.

the stories, lyrics and pictures in this book were invented by the children, with help from the professional creative team. the songs on the cd were sung and recorded by the children from each class, who were sometimes joined by other classes as well.

the fox is an animal of legend, known to us in town and country. its humour and intelligence, and its reputation as a rogue, make it perfect for creating new stories. foxtales is the story of one fox, and charts its journey through life: from school to parliament, to the trifle tower (via a tightrope across the channel), and finally into space. imagine where our fox might go next!

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The ITchy TwITchy SongChilds Hill Primary School, Cricklewood, London

you will itch for a Sunday dinner,you will twitch for a lovely barbecue,you will wish you were somewhere where it’s hot,and not in a place where it’s not,

if you sit on the wall near the river: if you cling to the spire of a church:if you hang out by the shop in the town or look through the railings of a fence

you will itch,you will twitch,you will itch, you will twitch,you will itch, you will sniff for a meal.

if you catch a juicy chicken and meet another fox,put that chicken inside your box.

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you will itch,you will twitch,you will itch, you will twitch,you will itch, you will hunt.

if you catch a juicy rabbit and meet another fox,put that rabbit inside your box.

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The Mole St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School, Holywood, Belfast

there was a mole stuck in a hole.Sorry mole, didn’t help you at all:you tried to get outand i used my teeth to pull you out -i didn’t help at all, i didn’t help at all.

there’s a mole stuck in a hole.hello mole, can i help you at all?you want to get out?i could use my teeth to pull you out -Would that help at all?

Where did he go, that juicy mole?oh no! i’ve swallowed him whole,that tasty plump mole:his nose and eyes, his hands and feet.What a way to meet!

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foxtaleS

SongS from the life of

an extraordinary fox

Written and performed by

children from classes across the

united Kingdom with the help of

compoSer

russell hepplewhite

Writer tim yealland

01. the itchy twitchy Song

02. the mole

03. Beware of the poacher

04. the Stream

05. fox 1

06. the fox cross code

07. fox School

08. Song to the moon

09. fox trap

10. if you can’t get to Sleep

11. the tightrope

rpS music award winner for education in 2009, english touring opera’s outreach department is renowned for the quality, variety and depth of its work: creative workshops, community opera, commissioned new operas for young people, residencies in special schools, and work with people of all ages and abilities, are all part of our ongoing commitment to build relationships with communities across the uK.

if you are interested in hearing more about eto’s outreach work, or would like to find out how to get involved, please contact:

english touring opera52-54 rosebery avenuelondonec1r 4rp

tel: 0207 833 2555Web: englishtouringopera.org.ukfacebook: facebook.com/englishtouringoperafollow us on twitter: twitter.com/etopera

12. the trifle tower

13. the north pole

14. the african dream

15. a parliament of foxes

16. Sensational fox

17. the leprechaun

18. a fox at the fair

19. up the ladder

20. hyper fox

21. dangercubs

22. laika the Spacedog

22 classes from primary schools across england and northern ireland took part in the production of the words and images in this book, and the songs on the cd it contains.

foxtales is the story of one fox, and charts its amazing journey through life: from school to parliament, to the trifle tower (via a tightrope across the channel), and finally into space.