"Don't forget. If danger threatens, run with the wind."
Run Wild is a series of children's books by Irish author Tom McCaughren. Set near Dublin, Run Wild tells the tale of a group of red foxes as they try to find a way to survive while being hunted by humans. They journey throughout the countryside and into the city as they try to escape danger.
The series consist of 7 books:
- Run With the Wind (1983)
- Run to the Earth (1984)
- Run Swift, Run Free (1986)
- Run to the Ark (1991)
- Run to the Wild Wood (1997)
- Run for Cover (1999)
- Run for the Hills (2016)
The first three books of the series are considered to be part of the 100 Greatest Books of Ireland
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Run Wild provides examples of:
- All of the Other Reindeer: Black Tip is the only fox around with a black tipped tail. His siblings used to tease him about it, making him shy but independent from a young age.
- Animal Naming Conventions: Foxes are named after either things in nature or traits. Examples include Hop, Black Tip, and Fang.
- Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": Hunters are "shooters" and bullets are "pellets".
- Death of a Child:
- Prior to the story, two of Vickey's cubs were clubbed to death by hunters.
- Black Tip's siblings died prior to adulthood.
- Disney Death: Fang and Black Tip fought over the chance to make Vickey their mate. Black Tip seemingly killed Fang, but he was able to help revive Fang later.
- A Lizard Named "Liz": Vickey is a fox vixen.
- Meaningful Name:
- Black Tip is named for his unusual black-tipped tail.
- Vickey is named because she's a vixen (a female fox).
- Fang is named because he fought hard against Black Tip.
- Sole Survivor: Black Tip is the only one of his siblings who survived to adulthood. The others were killed by traps.
- Stock Animal Name: Lampshaded with Vickey. Her name is explicitly called a "common fox name."
