The Cover
The cover includes a little suggestion/warning that the book should be “READ ALOUD” in order to find out how “smart your tongue is.” Of course, this a book for early readers and the rhymes get pretty complex so it is kind of ironic to tell the average reader of this book to be prepared to read it out loud. For that matter, it’s kind of ironic to put a warning on the cover.
Those Socks
The first time the socks are picture, they are not on the fox and they look like socks. Once the fox puts the socks on, however, they no longer look anything at all like socks. Ironically, the fox in socks almost looks more like a kitten wearing mittens.
Mr. Knox is a Liar
The entire structure of the narrative movement toward the climax is built upon the irony of Mr. Knox being a big fat liar. The whole he’s arguing that he can’t keep up with Mr. Fox, he knows perfectly well that not only can he keep up, he can excel and exceed the fox’s tongue-twisting talents.
“I don’t like this trick, sir”
The very first time that Mr. Knox complains to Mr. Fox that he can’t play the games because he can’t keep up—right after “Six sick chicks tock”—is a study in irony that even the crafty Mr. Fox seems to miss. The framing of Mr. Knox’s dissent is put in the form of an exhibition of the very opposite of what he’s saying, which is the fundamental DNA of irony. His assurance that he can’t keep up with Mr. Fox’s rhyming is itself a display of being able to keep up with Mr. Fox’s rhyming.
The Crafty Mr. Fox
In reply to this ironic display of Mr. Knox’s talent, Mr. Fox engages in a little fun bit of irony himself. He prefaces what is his most complicated and difficult tongue-twister with a promise:
“Here’s an easy
game to play.
Here’s an easy
thing to say…”
Of course, this turns out to be an ironic promise since it is not easy to play or say. And yet, by the end, it will turn out that for Mr. Knox it actually was easy which also lends his reply an ironic edge: “That’s not easy, Mr. Fox, sir.”
