Customer Reviews

The Midnight Fox (Puffin story books)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Back in 1968, I think it's fair to say that your average male hero in children's fiction was usually an athletic or at least agile young man. The Hardy Boys, after all, were still popular and the degree of introspection most young men in today's fiction are apt to was significantly less. Not so the hero of Betsy Byars's, "The Midnight Fox". A small unassuming but still interesting book from the last 60s, the tale is of an unathletic average boy, his summer spent on a farm in the country, and his chance encounters with a mysterious woodland creature. There is no magic. No mystical occurrences or significant coincidences. Just ordinary people acting and reacting to one another and the appearance of the animal that divides them.

Tom is under the distinct impression that animals of all sorts, regardless of species or family, hate him. And this is just one of the myriad of reasons Tom does not want to stay on his Aunt Millie and Uncle Fred's farm. He'll be far away from his best friend, alone with family members he hardly knows, and he'll probably get loaded down with chores. Still, Tom's parents are adamant, so it's off to the farm for a couple months he goes. Of course, nothing is as bad as he had anticipated. His relatives are sweethearts, his chores miniscule and his best friend is writing him regularly. As for animals, Tom meets one that becomes his summer fixation. Living on the acres of land surrounding the farm is a rare and beautiful black fox with a single cub. Intrigued by this elusive creature, the boy discovers her lair and protects her secret. But when the fox angers the family by making off with a few chickens, Tom has to figure out exactly what to do to save his new friend from people with excellent fox-tracking skills.

Confession time: This is the first Betsy Byars book I've ever read. I know her name is often synonymous with great children's writers everywhere. And I know that not having read, "The Summer of the Swans" yet I'm probably going to earn the pity of children's librarians everywhere. But honestly I didn't know what to expect from her as an author. What I found, to my delight, was a writer who's not afraid to use humor while tapping into childhood fears. Tom's remarkable in some ways because he's just an average guy. He can't swim, can't run very fast, and isn't a fan of sports particularly. His best friend Petie (who conjures up fake headlines like, "BOY FALLS DOWN BANK WHILE GIRL ONLOOKERS CHEER", to describe his everyday experiences) is just as interesting as Tom and provides a lot of comic relief in this tale. But best of all, this book tapped into one of my favorite kiddie lit conventions. It didn't include a villain. Oh, it includes adults doing thoughtless acts without realizing how they affect the children around them, sure. But no one here is a bad guy. And no one here ends up as the evil nefarious fox hunter or anything like that. If there had been someone like that in this book, it probably would've tipped this book dangerously into the world of melodrama. Oog. Fortunately, this is not the case and "Midnight Fox" just strikes the reader as a good well-written piece o' work.

Now, if you know a kid who's into foxes and the like, this isn't a bad book to hand them. Fortunately, a love of those animals is not a requirement. This is just a good read for anyone. Boys and girls alike. It has an exciting conclusion, some spots of beautiful writing, and likable characters. It will charm any and all comers, regardless of age.

In the book, The Midnight Fox, There are four main characters.Their names are, Tom, the black fox, Aunt Millie, and lastly UncleFred. Tom, a 10 year old boy, goes for the summer to his Aunt Millie's farm. He discovers a fascinating black fox while he reads letters from his best friend under a tree, in the orchard. He watches the black fox queitly without moving under a tree, in the orchard throughout the summer. Tom goes to the farm because his parents want to go to Europe without him. Tom's parents send him away to the farm, until they get back from Europe. The book has a few pros and cons of th story. It is a good book because it is about a fox, and I love reading about animals. It puts you in suspense, and gets more interesting by the page. However, the only bad thing is that u dont know what happens to the black fox when she leaves the farm for good. I think since the story is mainly about the black fox, the author should say where the fox goes, and what she does. There are a few pros and cons of the story that has to do with the way the story is written. Firstly, the story has nice short chapters which is a great thing. It is good because if the chapters were really long, people would get bored of the book. Secondly, the book is also very well written. It is good because the printing is very big and that makes the book much easier to read. For some people, it is a bad thing but for me that is good. Lastly, the narrator is the main character in the book and I like that because I can learn more about that person. However, a con of the writing is that there are many confusing passages with information that needs to be inferred.

I read this as a child and again recently as a father. Betsy Byars does an incredible job of capturing the confused, angry feelings of a young boy left on a farm for the summer by his parents. The main character may resemble today's kids even more than those of my youth - imagine asking a kid today to leave his TV, VCR and videogames for a whole summer! The twist comes when the young boy sees a black fox and gets caught up in this fox's life. The boy grows up by learning to care for something other than himself and in so doing affects everyone.

I chose this book because of the front cover. The front cover has lots of detail, attitude, and acts like a hook the author would use to get a reader interested. But the cover is not the reason why I like the book. The author, Betsy Byars, really develops her characters. She backs up all the character's feelings. One example of that is when Tommy, the main character, is left on the farm. The author explains how alone he feels. That one whole chapter is about how Tommy feels abandoned, which me, the reader, made me feel terrible. She also gives you a good clean-cut picture of what's happened and how the character feels in your mind. That's why anyone could read this book, The Midnight Fox.

The story, the Midnight fox, is about a boy named Tommy, having to stay with some relatives on a farm while his parent's bike around Europe. His relatives include Uncle Fred, Aunt Millie, and Hazeline his cousin. One day on the farm bored as usual Tom was in the field when he saw a Black Fox. As the days passed he became more fascinated by the Black Fox, and he followed her to her den and saw her baby and swore to himself that he would never go back there to disturb them again. The days passed fast one of those days Aunt Millie noticed her turkey was missing as well as some chickens. Aunt Millie told Uncle Fred about and she knew it was a fox, will Uncle Fred the great hunter catch the Black Fox who knows? To find you'll have to read the book.

I read this book 3 years ago, in April 2001. I can still remember that really sweet story. Tommy is reluctant to leave Petie Burkis, his home and toys to stay at his aunt Millie's farm for the holidays. To please his parents however, he goes. The story describes how a city boy like Tommy can really learn to love a farm, and how he meets the midnight fox, black as the night. This is the real excitement to the story!
I would recommend this book for 7-11year olds because it is short and sweet. The only reason it is one star down is the tendancy for the author to go on a bit and not really stick to the story. I think I'll remember this story when I'm old- It's a definate MUST READ!!!

Ten-year-old Tom resents being obliged to spend the summer at the farm of his relatives, while his parents bicycle through Europe. As an only child he amuses himself making models and indulging in crazy games of imagination with his bet pal, Petie. Sure that the two months will prove a washout, Tom arrives with quiet dignity and is outwardly obedient, but he harbors privately gloom. He rarely speaks, shows enthusiasm for their attempts to amuse him, or even gratitude for their welcoming efforts--preferring to play the role of the loner.

A loner, that is, until the day he spots a rare, black fox dancing and leaping in the luxuriant green grass. Instantly the boy is fascinated by her grace and beauty, her kinship with the freedom of wild nature. Seeing her again and finding her secret den become Tom's personal obsessions. Then--to his secret horror--his uncle announces plans to track her down and shoot her, as she poses a serious threat to Aunt Millie's poultry,

Literary tension builds like an inevitable summer storm, climaxing one stormy night--when Tom defies common sense and respect for his elders and his hosts. Determined to rescue not one but both foxes from certain death, he seizes the opportunity to grow tall in moral courage, by acting
upon his conscience and then bravely accepting the consequences of his actions. Related as a detailed flashback this story grabs the reader's attention from the outset; but which of several possible endings will prevail? Can a Fox learn wisdom along with a young boy? An excellent read for kids of all ages.

The main character, Tom, has a bleak outlook on everything. He won't try new things and if he didn't like something when he was tiny, he is convinced that he won't now. This is until he is sent away to his aunt and uncle's farm and, one little fox changes his whole outlook on life. It is a great book and I recomend it to 9-13+ year olds as below 9, I don't think they would understand the meaning. Overall, great book.

As a fourth grade teacher, I always searched for good read-alouds that would appeal to both girls and boys. Betsy Byars is such a gifted author that when I saw her name on this book I gave it a try. It was such a favorite that I read it to twelve years' worth of classes.... and never got tired of the story myself! One of Byars' great talents is making her characters believable. There wasn't a false note in any of the characters of this book. A seemingly minor character, Petie, contributes great "laugh out loud" humor to the story. The story itself has deep felt emotions, tension, interesting characters, suspense, descriptive sense of place - all the qualities of a book you'd enjoy and remember. Each of the other reviews of this book have given the plot line, so I won't repeat it. I consider this one of my favorite childrens' books.

The book The Midnight Fox is one of the most perfect books ever. It really caught my interest in the middle of this book. Between exciting and beautiful moments.
In the book, the characters were so trustworthy you could even be their best friend. That is one of the reasons why I liked this book so much. One of my favorite characters was Tom, though he was a really mean and argumentative with his family. Tom is a person who has one best friend and Tom's very caring. After he got sent to the farm his attitude changed. He became quieter and went and sat by the creek bed every day. He tried calming his cousin down. Her name is Hazline. She thinks she's really fat, but Tom doesn't. Tom helps do chores everyday, and then goes and plays.
In the book, Tom was an interesting person and no one really listened to him, until the end of the book. Betsy Byars caught my interest in the middle of the book when Tom found out he had to go the farm. Byars , managed to catch my interest, by making it more dramatic.
After reading this novel, I learned many different things. I also felt I could relate to Tom in a situation. The situation was when he ran out and saved the baby fox and set it free. I learned you have to do things in life you don't want to do, but this one, I did.

Tom goes to his uncles house and the fox is killing the chickens so Tom and hsi uncle went to kill the fox. The authur Betsy Byars dose a bad job expressing Tom. She dose a good job telling about the other characters. Like uncle Fred, Happ, and Hazeline. The authur dose a good job describing the setting by telling about the surroudings and the house.
We thinkk it's a good book. We think people should buy it. It's a really good book.