MY FRIEND FOXY

Children who made friends with David Grant's tame and lovable pet Foxy in an earlier book (Foxy, J-179, '60) will be especially anxious to find out how life on a Sussex farm agrees with the thirteen month old fox cub. Apparently Foxy is perfectly happy --but his presence in the surrounding countryside causes some pretty hectic times for the neighbors with David bearing the brunt of his pet's innocent capriciousness. There are many compensations, however, for without Foxy, David might never have had so many gay and exciting times. It is not easy for the conservative inhabitants of a rural English community to tolerate a fox in their midst and it takes all of Foxy's innate intelligence and unique gentleness to win them over. John Montgomery's brand of humor has special appeal for this age group. It centers on the picture of the serious solid citizen caught in a thoroughly unconventional situation. The vicar's stodgy wife looks awfully silly riding her bicycle into the pond -- so does the spinster schoolteacher commanding her class to stop making animal noises. But in the end Foxy proves himself --to the gamekeeper, the postman, the worried passers-by. Best of all he leads his master into adventures that many a growing boy will envy.