#100 1/2 . Flossie and the Fox

I don't usually review picture books here but this book was too much fun not to mention it.

Flossie & the Fox by Patricia C. McKissack
illustrated by Rachel Isadora


Pages: 32
Finished: Oct. 23, 2007
Reason for Reading: read aloud to my 7yo
First Published: 1986
Genre: children's picture book, folk tale
Rating: 5/5


First Sentence:

"Flo-o-o-ossie!" The sound of Big Mama's voice floated past the cabins in Sophie's Quarters, round the smokehouse, beyond the chicken coop, all the way down to Flossie Finley."

Comments: An African-American deep South version of the traditional Red Riding Hood fairy tale. In this rendition Flossie is taking a basket of eggs to a neighbours house and is met by a Fox in the woods. Flossie refuses to believe he is a fox, since she's never seen one before, and the fox tries to prove himself to her. This is a picture book with a lot of text and what beautiful language in this wonderful tale. Told in a rural Black dialect the words are vivid. Both the text and the illustrations convey a sense of mischief that builds until the last hilarious page. The 7yo was laughing out loud and so proud of Flossie at the end of the tale. Highly Recommended.