Customer Reviews

Flossie and the Fox

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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This has become my favorite children's book! I bought it for my "almost" three yr old son and he was captivated by the story and the beautiful pictures. Flossie is so innocently sly! She will not be out-witted by some ol' fox! The idea that this regal creature is being insulted by a mere child is absurd to him, yet he can't get past his own ego to see he is being out-foxed! I adored everything about this book.

Flossie Finley, the smart and feisty heroine of this book is one of my favorite characters in all of childrenÕs literature. The story is an African American variation on Little Red Riding Hood, but Flossie is no wide-eyed innocent who has to be saved in the end by the big, brave woodcutter. She can save herself, thank you very much. The way she tricks the fox who wants to devour her basket of eggs is delightful. Every little girl (and probably every boy as well) ought to be introduced to this brave and resourceful child.

And Flossie is not the only great thing about this book. Patricia McKissack based it on a story her grandfather told her and she tried to reproduce the way he told it, in "the rich and colorful dialect of the rural south." The language is lovely, musical and poetic Š a joy to read aloud. And the illustrations are equally gorgeous. The pictures of sun-dappled wood remind me of Impressionist paintings.

Great story, great writing, great pictures, great character Š this is one of the best childrenÕs books IÕve ever read.

As an elementary special education teacher, I loved reading "Flossie and the Fox" to my students. It was every bit as delightful an experience for me as it was for them. Flossie is a very clever little girl, and the manuscript is practically a vocal symphony! The illustrations are as refreshing and fun as the book. Give you and your child a real treat by sitting down together to read the book, and then discuss it!

Flossie And The Fox is a story that is absolutly loved by my children, one you will be asked to read again and agian. When flosie is asked to run an errand for her grandmother, the curios girl runs into a fox on her way, yet not the typical fox. In order to keep her eggs from being eaten she must keep the fox's mind of those eggs. Through her journey in the woods she is able to use her qaint childlike cleverness to entertain the foxes ego. Great story! Brilliant plot! Should be made into a movie! Exellent anti bias story as well, flossie speaks as a young african american girl would growing up in the country in Tennese, The fox uses proper Engish, and the narrator uses the language of the day. Highly recomended!

Little Red Riding Hood is essentially a British folk tale. Flossie is a quintessentially American product. She's smart as a whip, cute as a button, and clever without being obnoxiously sassy or brash. She minds her manners while protecting her basket of eggs. She lives in the rural south of sometime past. Big Mama sends her to take some eggs to a neighbor because a fox has taken all the neighor's eggs. Big Mama warns Flossie to watch out for the fox because they surely do love eggs, and off Flossie goes in her pigtails and pinafore. She does meet up with the fox, and she cleverly outsmarts him, but you aren't sure she's going to do it until the last page, when she reveals what she's known all along. Patricia McKissack says this is one of the stories told her as a child. I can't find the source, but I read something else this gifted author wrote once about this 'black Little Red Riding' story. As best I recall, what she said is that this isn't a 'black Little Red Riding Hood story," it's a Flossie and the Fox story, and there's no need to have 'African American' substitutes for the traditional tales which we all should know, because we all should know them. She didn't write this story as a substitute- it's just another really good, ripping yarn that we *also* all should know. I hope I'm not misrepresenting what she said, but that's how I remember it. At any rate, I agree that this is a really good story for all children and their parents, and it stands boldly on its own merits, and Flossie is a little girl I'd be proud to know.

As a primary school librarian, I read this book to dozens of second-graders. The absolute best thing about it is the 'voice;' it is a delight to read aloud. For teachers looking for a good example of this trait, search no more. Sometimes you're searching for a secular story to read at Easter-time, too, and this being about eggs fits the bill nicely. Other pluses: the illustrations are amazing, capturing the humor and subtleties of expression and letting the reader in on little secrets. It's hard not to be charmed by Flossie. Not only is she fearless, but she outwits the fox in splendid fashion. How could anyone resist such a strong, Black female heroine? There are history lessons here, too, and students could discuss whether this takes place during slavery times or not.

Kids could act out this story easily. I'm buying it for my grandson (white) before it goes out of print, and I can't wait till he's old enough to get a kick out of it.

When my children were very young, I checked this book out at the library to read to them. I put in all the African-American dialect and gave each of the characters their own voice. It quickly became such a regular read, that I bought the book from the library, unable to find it in any bookstore. Just this Christmas, my children now all grown, I found the book on Amazon and ordered three: one for each child as a memoir of their childhood. It is our family's favorite children's story to this day. Obviously, I highly recommend.

I love the story here. Flossie - who "disremembers" ever seeing a fox - has to walk through the woods where a fox is to deliver eggs down the road. So naturally, when she sees a fox, she tells him he's all sorts of other things right up until she's safe through the woods and the hounds chase him. Seeing the little girl out-trick the trickster is *very* satisfying.

I also like the language - Flossie's speech is full-on in her dialect. (Note: Some people may not like this. If you get het up about the word "ain't" (spelled here "aine", so it's doubly nonstandard!) or double negatives, you will wish to read this book before you buy it.) For a five or seven year old girl, though, she sure does use big words! Confidencer, accord, disremember. And the fox, fitting his role, uses different language altogether, very formal and fancy and, at times, stiff.

The one problem I have with the book is the illustration. These pictures are detailed, lush, beautiful - and yet, I don't like them. I keep getting the feeling that I'm looking at posed pictures instead of what is ostensibly going on on the page! This is clearly just a matter of personal preference, but I took a a little off for it.

In a creative and sly twist on the traditional Red Riding Hood story, a little girl named Flossie is sent through the woods to bring the neighbors a basket of eggs, because a fox has been terrorizing their henhouse. Flossie has never seen a fox, but when she takes a shortcut through the woods she encounters one. He introduces himself as a fox, eyeing her basket of eggs, and she cheerfully replies that she does not believe he is what he says he is. As she continues her walk, he offers different pieces of evidence to prove his identity: his thick fur, his pointy nose, his yellow eyes, his bushy tail. At each attempt she retorts that he must be some other animal (a rabbit, a rat, a cat, a squirrel), until he follows her into the clearing near the neighbors' home, and the farmer's dog chases him back into the woods.

The book is illustrated with beautiful paintings, evocative of the historic rural American South, and the little girl is rendered charmingly in a number of pleasant outdoor scenes. The text, however, is the great drawing point: the story is told in a warm voice characteristic of the African-influenced English that grew up in the South -- the author states that it is reconstructed from her memory of her grandfather's front-porch storytelling. Flossie's victory over the fox keys on her quick-witted verbal banter (a quality especially valued in African-American culture), and she demonstrates intelligence and strength of will throughout the interaction. The book ends with young Flossie grinning over her shoulder, basket of eggs under her arm, as she acknowledges her opponent as a fox -- just as the farm dog chases him away. She has matched her wits against an animal known for quick-wittedness, and has won the day. This is a delightfully enjoyable excursion.

I loved reading this book aloud to my second graders. It is delightful to see how Flossie outwits the fox. Have fun reading it to your children at home too!