Usually when we see Fox, the main character in a series of easy-to-read
books by James Marshall, he is at home with his sarcastic mom and his
troublesome but adoring little sister Louise or carousing somewhere with
his buddies Dexter, a pig, and Carmen, a frog. We see all those
characters in Fox At School, but because the school is the
setting of each story, the most prominent secondary character is Fox's
teacher Miss Moon, who is a cow.
In Fox on Stage, Fox
is ecstatic to have won the lead in the class play. Now all the girls
will go gaga over him! Unfortunately, he is so busy daydreaming and
accepting adulation that he fails to prepare properly for practice,
resulting in great embarrassment. I'm not sure whether this book came
before or after Fox On Stage; I'm thinking before, because in
that book, he seems to be a little more diligent about learning his
lines. Incidentally, I'm amused by the fact that Fox exclaims "Hot dog!"
in this story, as well as in the last. What a dorky thing to say... Mr. Rosso would be proud.
In Fox Escapes,
Fox's fear of heights comes to haunt him again when the class must
participate in a fire drill. We often had fire drills in school, but
they never involved sliding down a chute from the second floor. It
sounds fun. It sounds exciting. But it's not something Fox wants to do,
and it turns out it's not something Miss Moon particularly wants to do
either, so the two manage to have a bit of a bonding experience, perhaps
improving their relationship after the disastrous play. This story also
introduces the principal, a mean-looking pig with thick glasses, beady
eyes, big buck teeth and an ugly brown suit. He looks like a guy
students wouldn't want to cross.
Fox In Charge wraps up
the volume. Once again we find him babysitting, though in this case
it's for his fellow classmates, since his teacher has put him in charge
for a few minutes. It's unclear whether this is because she trusts him
or because word got around to her that Fox wants to be a teacher because
he thinks it's easy and she wants to teach him a lesson. Frankly, with
all of Fox's misadventures in looking after youngsters, I can't imagine
why he would want to be a teacher and certainly don't know what gave him
the idea that it was a simple job. He starts out smug as usual, but I
end up feeling sorry for him before too long, since he's in the biggest
class full of hooligans since Sister Mary Clarence's music class in Sister Act 2. His buddy Dexter is the worst one of all. Is there any way to get out of this disaster?
I miss Fox's always funny mom here, as she only shows up on one page,
but Miss Moon fills the authority role nicely. Aside from the first
story, Fox isn't quite as obnoxious here as he often is, which is a bit
of a relief, and getting a glimpse of his school life is a nice change
of pace for those who are fond of James Marshall's wily young
protagonist.
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