I am a great fan of James Marshall, the wickedly funny
author-illustrator behind a charming series of vignettes about a pair of
hippos named George and Martha.
Recently, I've been getting acquainted with some of his other work, and
it turns out he wrote just as many stories about foxes as hippos. One
of these is Fox on Stage, which features three amusing stories to inspire aspiring young thespians and film-makers.
In Fox on Film,
we meet Fox's spunky grandma, who injures herself skiing and
consequently is bored out of her skull, forced to convalesce in a
hospital bed when she could be out skydiving. In an effort to cheer her
up, Fox makes a video for her, but when his friends declare it dull, he
resorts to dubious tactics in order to create a film that will capture
Grannie's fancy.
Next comes Flying Fox, the shortest of
the stories, which finds Fox at a magic show with his buddies. Despite
the opulent stage and his friends' insistence that this will be a
remarkable show, the magic tricks fail to impress Fox - until his
disagreeable response catches the attention of the magician, who decides
to show this young skeptic just what sort of wonders he is capable of.
Finally, we have Fox on Stage,
which presents the familiar situation of several kids putting on a
play. Fox and his friends have much greater success than I ever did in
securing an audience - and an audience willing to pay, at that - but
what will happen when unforeseen complications arise, preventing a
perfect production?
Fox on Stage is a part of the Dial
easy-to-read series and is comparable to the I Can Read books in terms
of length and difficulty. Despite the stories' brevity, they are witty
and full of characterization, from Fox's slightly pesky but adoring
little sister Louise to his sarcastic mom, who has little sympathy for
Fox's complaints of boredom. The drawings are humorous and cartoonish; I
especially enjoy the shot of Grannie Fox suspended upside-down in
mid-air, skis on her boots and an irritated expression on her face.
This is the ninth of Marshall's Fox books, but the order in which you
read them doesn't much matter. If you're looking for a good book for a
child with a flair for the dramatic, Fox on Stage may be just the ticket.
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