What Happened on Fox Street

Mo Wren has lived on Fox Street all of her life. In Mo's opinion, Fox Street has almost everything you could want . . . except for other girls, and foxes. Mo's best friend Mercedes lives on Fox Street only in the summer, when she visits her grandmother. And despite Mo's careful observation of the wildlife in the ravine at the end of the street, she's never seen a fox there. She hasn't given up hope, though. Mo can't imagine living anywhere other than Fox Street. Then, one summer, everything changes. Mercedes, courtesy of a despised new stepfather's money, starts dressing stylishly and talking about how her grandmother should move somewhere closer to the rest of her family. Mo's little sister Dottie is growing up, and getting wilder show more every day. One of the dreaded Baggot boys starts seeming oddly appealing to Mo -- well, that change may not be so bad, really. The worst change, though, is that Mo's father, despairing over his miserable job with the city utilities department and still mourning the loss of Mo's mother, gets an offer from a lawyer who wants to purchase the little house on Fox street. Then, Mo finds a tiny bit of fur snagged on a bramble in the ravine -- reddish orange fur, just the color of a fox's coat. How can Mo even think of leaving Fox street, just when she's finally found the sign she's been looking for? Can she talk her father into keeping the house? Even if she stays, will things stay the same, or is change inevitable?

This lovely little book is about dealing with change. It also touches on responsibility, friendship, and the ties that hold a family together. Mo is delightful, and all of the characters are beautifully realized, with all of their flaws, quirks, and moments of grace and humor. Highly recommended. show less

A sweet story about a girl named Mo who love love loves her neighborhood on Fox Street. Mo and her little sister Dottie lost their mother when they were young, but they have a great community helping their father raise them. Trouble comes when a developer targets Fox Street for destruction and Mo's best friend Mercedes changes in ways Mo doesn't understand (basically, Mercedes' family suddenly has a lot of money). Mo has two important goals: staying on Fox Street and trying to spy an actual fox in the wooded area near her house.

The trouble with this story is that it's slow. It's well-written, the characters are lovable, and the drama is real, but the plot is pretty stagnant. There's a "mystery" regarding a mean old neighbor-lady's show more sudden interest in Mercerdes, but it's totally transparent, so really not a mystery at all. Mo's attachment to her neighborhood is so fierce it's compelling, but emotion alone doesn't make that great of a story. show less

A good read, but I'm not certain of the age of the target audience.

A pattern I think I'm starting to see with [a:Springstubb|58029|Tricia Springstubb|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1281601116p2/58029.jpg] is that everyone (and I mean everyone) in her book(s) has a problem or difficulty of some sort. Divorced, abandoned, alcohol, physical abuse, violence, widowed, murderer, stroke, old-age, fat, tall, skinny—they don't seem to be character descriptions, but almost character definitions. Not quite, but close.

The story itself I would recommend to my 10 year-old. But the complicated parentage and off-page sex situations make me wonder if perhaps it is more mature than what I would rather be on her reading list.

One of the most perfect children's chapter books I've read in a long time. I knew immediately from the very beginning of the story, that I was going to love this. The author paints such an accurate touching perspective of childhood, honing in on the anxiety that comes with growing up and watching the world open up around you as you start to understand things more. Sweet simplicity starts to slip away...

Beautifully written, sweet, spunky, funny. I loved it.

Mo Wren (not moron) lives on a cul-de-sac, Fox Street., with her widower father and her wild little sister Dottie. It's a street where everyone looks out for one another (for the most part). They are a quirky diverse group living between a ravine, which Mo loves and is sure is a home to foxes, and Paradise Avenue, home of the Tip Top Club. A slightly low rent area.

Mo's father says she thinks too much, and we see how she puzzles over the many responsibilities and changes that fill her life. She's got to take care of her sister and at times it's just too much. Her best friend Is Mercedes who comes each summer to stay with her grandma across the street. This year it's different as Mercedes mother got married which is making for big changes show more for Mercedes.

The writing and imagery make this a charming and readable book. I'd say 3rd grade girls would be the prime audience. The characters are quite believable and the conflicts not too stressful. show less

The author does a particularly fine job of capturing a child's perspective of the street you live on being the whole world.

Fox Street means everything to Mo Wren, who is nearly eleven, and so she is very upset when a land developer offers to buy her father's house, especially since she has not yet found the fox she is sure lives in the nearby ravine.