The Ghost Fox - Softcover

Grade 3-5-Seeking revenge for an unintentional slight, a ghost fox attempts to steal the souls of both Little Lee and his mother while the merchant Big Lee has gone downriver to trade. They protect themselves throughout the spring, summer, and fall, but let their guard down in the winter. The fox sneaks into the house and begins to harden the woman's heart against her only son. Changing from a patient, kind, and adoring mother, she becomes angry and cruel and puts him out of their home. Realizing that he alone can restore her spirit, the tenacious boy devises a plan that succeeds because of his cleverness and courage. Detailed, full-page, black-and-white illustrations appear throughout and draw readers into the narrative, adapted from a collection of Chinese 17th-century tales of the supernatural. Readers of sophisticated fairy tales will enjoy this fast-paced story in which a physically and emotionally abandoned child defends himself and his loved one, and goodness is victorious.
Susan Middleton, LaJolla Country Day School, CA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 3-5. In a chapter-book fantasy based on an old Chinese story, Little Lee must save his mother from a dangerous ghost fox that is stealing her soul. The evil fox disguises itself as a human in the daytime, but in the dark comes scratching at the door of the house and enters the mother's dreams. Each morning she acts more and more disoriented, first sad and then mean and ugly. Through the long, harsh winter, Little Lee's father is away trading on the river, and the villagers ignore the trouble. The boy must set things right himself. The comic chapters about the defeat of the ghost fox are not as tightly written as the family scenes, but kids will enjoy the clever reversal when Little Lee defeats the trickster fox with his own disguise and trickery. The Tsengs' full-page black-and-white illustrations in seventeenth-century Chinese style have depth and drama, combining authentic details of dress and architecture with a strong sense of narrative. What haunts you about this story is the elemental terror of the strong, loving parent who turns into a stranger. Hazel Rochman