In Fox on Wheels, written by Edward Marshall and illustrated by
James Marshall, the frisky young protagonist of several Dial
Easy-to-Read books appear in conjunction with several types of wheels.
Some - a bike and skateboard - are of the sort you would expect for a
spunky lad, but others are less conventional and consequently more
amusing. Over the course of three stories of about 15 pages in length,
we get half a dozen different types of wheels and many laughs to go
around.
Doctor Fox once again finds Fox looking after his troublesome little sister Louise. I'm guessing this book came shortly after Fox and His Friends;
his expectant mom of that book is now a proud parents of four: Fox,
Louise and a pair of newborn twins. She is equally preoccupied in this
book, and as a result Fox must forgo fun with his friends in favor of
Louise. Except he's not a very attentive baby-sitter, and Louise takes a
tumble when he's not looking. Fox's attitude is irritating throughout
the first half of this story, but following the mishap, he is genuinely
remorseful, and it's nice to see him - in a series of touching half-page
illustrations - take such great care of his sister. Even if she doesn't
need quite as much care as she lets on...
In Fox and the Grapes,
while bike-riding in the park, Fox is tempted by the bunch of grapes
his friend Millie dangles from a branch high above his head. I feel
sorry for Fox in this story because he's so frightfully afraid of
heights. For all his bravado, he's actually a wimp in many situations.
But he's also very stubborn, so he is determined to find a way to
conquer his fear.
Mom's out to ruin Fox's fun again in Fox on Wheels.
This time, she offers him options: watch Louise or go to the store. Fox
goes for the latter and soon is glad, since his friends have been sent
on similar missions. Maybe the grocery store can be fun after all! The
calamitous pictures accompanying the store scenes are hilarious, but
youngsters will probably be deterred from following suit by the
marvelous end of this story. For when the fun he and his friends devise
disrupts several shoppers, Fox soon falls victim to his mother's acerbic
wit as she concocts the perfect punishment.
I really love Fox's mom, and she has a starring role in two of the three stories. That's certainly a reason Fox on Wheels
is one of my favorite Fox books thus far. It isn't easy to keep such a
rambunctious youngster in line, but she manages it with cleverness and
humor. With her keeping an eye on him, Fox is sure to come out all right
in the end. In the meantime, it sure it fun to laugh at his
mis-steps...
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