Viral video sensation “The Fox” by Ylvis will be published as a picture book by Simon & Schuster. It will be available in time for Christmas.

It may be the first children’s book to come with “Based on the YouTube Sensation” emblazoned on its cover.

“What Does the Fox Say?” has illustrations by Svein Nyhus; the text is from the lyrics by Ylvis, which does sound a lot like a children’s book. “Dog goes woof / Cat goes meow.... What does the fox say?”

What the fox says, of course, isn’t like a children’s book at all: “ding-ding-ding-geding-ding-ding,” “wa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pow,” and so on (or something like that).


Simon & Schuster children’s publishing president Jon Anderson said in a release about the book, “I cannot tell you how many times I’ve watched Ylvis’s hilarious, mesmerizing, unforgettable ‘The Fox.’ The lyrics and playfulness of the song lend themselves perfectly to the picture book format, and I’m ecstatic that Simon & Schuster is publishing Bård and Vegard’s first book. Parents and kids are going to have an absolute blast reading What Does the Fox Say? out loud.”

“What Does the Fox Say?” will be available in bookstores Dec. 10. For $17.99 it can be yours -- or, you know, your kids’.

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