Flossie & the Fox is a 1986 picture book by Patricia C. McKissack about a girl, Flossie, who takes some eggs to a neighbor, meets a fox on the way and manages to outwit it. In 1991, a film adaptation of the book was made with the author narrating.
Reception
Kirkus Reviews, in a starred review of Flossie & the Fox, wrote "Isadora's watercolor, ink and pencil illustrations fully realize the spirit of the text, with Flossie's sturdy, self-reliant stance and the fox growing progressively more tentative and defensive. Mellow green, lemon, rust and earth tones fill a safe, sun-dappled world." The review called it "A perfect picture book."[1]School Library Journal wrote "The language is true, and the illustrations are marvelously complementary in their interpretation of the events. This spirited little girl will capture readers from the beginning, and they'll adore her by the end of this delightful story."[2]
In discussing literary innovations in diverse children's literature, scholar Jonda C. McNair explores how the dialogue present in Patricia C. McKissack'a Flossie & the Fox portrays African American English Vernacular in a positive light. This link discusses its use of a clever character that is able to outsmart the fox who speaks standard English.[6]
^"Flossie & the fox". Buffalo and Erie County Public Library. Retrieved February 12, 2017. The story lends itself to reading aloud; the proper dramatic expression will make this a crowd pleaser.
^"Flossie and the Fox". Publishers Weekly. PWxyz LLC. October 28, 1986. Retrieved February 12, 2017. This is a sly tale, richly evoked by both Isadora's lavish paintings and the storyteller's dialect.
^McNair, J. C. (2010). Classic African American children's literature. The Reading Teacher, 64(2), 96-105.
^Bernice E. Cullinan; Diane Goetz Person (2005). The Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. A&C Black. p. 537. She (McKissack) sees connections between Flossie and the Fox (1986) and Little Red Riding Hood.
^Jeffrey Glanz; Linda S. Behar-Horenstein (2000). Paradigm Debates in Curriculum and Supervision: Modern and Postmodern Perspectives. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 180. Another powerful way to introduce the concept of multiple perspectives in elementary classrooms is by reading different story books on the same event, like .. Little Red Riding Hood and Flossie & the Fox
