Flossie & the Fox

About the Book

“Here is a story from my youth, retold in the same rich and colorful language that was my grandfather’s,” writes McKissack in an opening note. And indeed readers feel like they are on a porch swing, listening on a summer evening. In the story, young Flossie must deliver eggs to a neighboring farm. On her way, she encounters a fox who wants the eggs. Flossie shows no fright. She scoffs at his claims that he’s a fox: squirrels have bushy tails, cats have sharp claws, rats have pointed noses. As the fox tries to prove his claim, Flossie cleverly leads him into danger. Richly color-saturated pictures convey Flossie’s undaunted self-assurance and the fox’s increasing despair.

Why this Book?

Flossie is irresistible, and her story’s told in pitch perfect language. When the fox finally moans, “I may never recover my confidence,” Flossie retorts, “You just an ol’ confidencer. Come tellin’ me you was a fox, then can’t prove it. Shame on you!” The folktale structure provides a repetitive cadence as Flossie compares the fox to one animal after another. The end is wholly satisfying. Patricia McKissack was a gift to the world of children’s books, writing picture books, folktales, novels, and nonfiction about Black history. This is one of her many delightful contributions.