Fox [Hardcover]

Margaret Wild (Author), Ron Brooks (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up

An injured magpie and a one-eyed dog live happily together in the forest, until a jealous fox arrives to teach them what it means to be alone.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wild (Nighty Night) departs from her playful characters of recent books for this haunting look at friendship and cruelty, geared to older readers. After Dog saves Magpie from a fire and nurses her burnt wing, the two forge a powerful bond. The one-eyed dog and the flightless bird travel together across a charred, leafless landscape, with Magpie feeling the wind in her feathers as she rides on Dog's back. "Fly, Dog, fly! I will be your missing eye, and you will be my wings." The mood changes quickly, however, when Fox enters his sleek, orange body curled around one side of a spread and sets Magpie on edge ("His smell seems to fill the cave a smell of rage and envy and loneliness"). The tension Wild invokes in juxtaposing their disparate emotions creates a disquieting feeling that Brooks (Rosie and Tortoise) mirrors in his artwork, especially in close-ups of the characters' eyes. His hand-lettered text (resembling a child's shaky penmanship) appears in oddly positioned blocks, with some flipped vertically against the page edges and gutter. The stark illustrations, in mixed media and collage, expose the characters' raw emotions with brusque hash marks in thick applications of mostly dark paint. Only when Fox cons Magpie into switching her allegiance and traveling with him do readers discover the depth of Fox's alienation. The tale ends on a tenuously hopeful note, and the images from this unsettling, provocative story will resonate long after the book has been closed. Ages 6-up.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Gr 3 Up-The simplicity of presentation belies the sophistication of this allegorical tale that demonstrates the tremendous power of caring and friendship. Dog, blinded in one eye, finds Magpie, whose wing has been burned in a forest fire. He carries her to his cave, but she is distraught and bitter because she can no longer fly. Dog is a true and patient friend and an optimist, and his encouragement lifts the bird's spirits. ("I will be your missing eye, and you will be my wings," Magpie declares.) Enter dashing, flattering Fox, full of "rage and envy and loneliness," who attempts to destroy the friendship by luring Magpie away. In this short tale, Wild conveys some of the stages of human grief-anger, depression, and withdrawal and, finally, acceptance. Brooks's dramatic illustrations perfectly suit the text. Thick, textured paint in shades of brown, peachy beige, and bluish gray, detailed in black line and frequent scratchboardlike technique, sets off the rich, fiery tone of Fox's fur and allows readers to sense the excitement and danger that his presence engenders in Magpie. The text is hand lettered in large, childish print, sometimes on pasted paper scraps. Use the book with younger children to prompt discussions of both friendship and loss; use it with older students as a fine example of allegory and outstanding artistic presentation.

Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Kane/Miller Book Publishers (October 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929132166
• ISBN-13: 978-1929132164
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 10.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,733,217 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars powerful and disturbing book for older readers, September 2, 2001

By 

Kathleen Cobcroft (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fox (Hardcover)

"Fox" won the 2001 Children's Book Council of Australia award for best picture book, but it's certainly not a story for little children. Illustrated by Ron Brooks (who did "John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat" among many others), the pages are bathed in reds, oranges and blacks, and has the text written in a dark scrawl, sometimes at strange angles.

Set in the aftermath of a bushfire (forest fire), a one-eyed dog befriends a magpie bird who can no longer fly and gently nurses her back to emotional health. Magpie rides on Dog's back to simulate flying, and acts as a new eye for him. This happy state is endangered when a feral Fox comes and lives with them. Fox is also damaged, but only on the inside ; he is jealous of their great friendship (due to his own inability to love) and works to destroy it. From the ending, it is not clear if he failed.

"Fox" is probably best for 8/9 years and up, as the dark imagery and open ending can be could be upsetting for small children but it is an interesting and thought provoking book for older readers.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing Accomplishment, July 31, 2005

By 

Theresa Williams "Zen" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fox (Hardcover)

I was first introduced to this book when my husband, an artist, brought it home from the library because he liked the stunning illustrations. When I read the book, I was floored. The archetypal imagery caused me to feel it in my whole body; I can certainly understand why it won the award. I know I would have loved this book as a child, as from a young age I was drawn to the darker aspects of life. Some children need to explore darkness. Exploring it helps them to understand how it works in their own lives. This is an amazing psychological treatment of wounding, betrayal, remorse, and finally redemption.

I'm a writer and writing teacher, and I've used this book with adults to teach them the power of archetypes. This is truly a book for all ages.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for Young Children, January 10, 2006

By 

Renee Thorpe (Karangasem, Bali) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fox (Hardcover)

Haunting tale of betrayal that is truly frightening and powerful enough to render adults speechless and even tearful.

Unlike many fairy tales, there is no happy ending. Indeed, that's the way life often deals out betrayals, but if you're looking for some fantastic escapism, this book won't do it. It is a bit like a fable from Aesop, but without the humor.

I agree with one of my fellow reviewers who states that this would be good for older children. Might be a good way to broach the topic of cruelty, but the kids who are sadistic bullies and need to learn a lesson probably don't have parents who'd have the sensitivity to get this book.

Rich, gorgeous drawings hold so much power that even the illustrator himself admitted to being taken aback when he leafed through a copy of the Chinese translation.