Fox

this book is amazing. i don't generally read children's books either, but a friend at a bookstore showed it to me. i was drawn to the illustrations and the font. so i sat down to read it. i almost cried in a bookstore. it may be presented as a children's book, but it's not for little kids. i had to go back and read it again and again to absorb everything that was being presented. this book is both profound and beautifully sad. don't be fooled by its appearance, and read it as an adult. highly highly recommended

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.

This book is similar to a Shakespeare tale, leaving you with questions and urging you to imagine what will happen after the book is closed. I recommend this book for all middle school and high school age teens. It opens up discussions on friendship, betrayal and trust: concepts that are of great importance at that time.

Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks's Fox is a children's picturebook originally published in Australia. Written in shaky, printed script as if penned by a young child, and illustrated with powerful color drawings with just a hint of abstractionism to their art, Fox is an immersive tale of a one-eyed dog, a magpie with a burned wing, and a jealous fox who tries to end their friendship. A moving story, told in an unforgettable artistic medium, makes this unique book a children's classic.

"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.