Christopher Fox

Just as every war has its heroes, so every war has its mascots. As the sequel to Dog Jack, Florence Biros’ latest work Christopher Fox weaves an engaging story around Clayton Crawford, a Confederate general during the Civil War, and the fox fictional serves as his mascot. Although necessarily fictionalized due to the lack of historical documents surrounding “Clayton,” Christopher Fox is loosely based on historical accounts of a real Confederate general who did not indeed keep his pet fox with him during the war.

Children will enjoy the easy, quick-paced nature of the book, and parents will be pleased by the personal character and moral lessons exemplified by various characters. Although a graduate of West Point and chosen to be a general at the outbreak of war, Clayton retains his humility and is always ready to do a good turn for his soldiers. The faithfulness of Nathaniel, Clayton’s trusty aide, is also noticeable. Other character traits shown throughout the book include courage, forgiveness, the effects of bitterness, and several others.

Although the overall nature of the book is very positive, some parents who uphold courtship as their family’s chosen method of reaching marriage may wish to preview brief portions of chapters 14 and 18. However, these sections are very short and need not detract from the benefit or enjoyment of the story.

From a literary standpoint, Christopher Fox will be an enjoyable read for children who like historical fiction, as well as those with a taste for stories about animals. The book puts several aspects of the Civil War into perspective, such as the scale of the conflict, and the nearly “comrades in arms” attitude each side held toward the other by the end of the war.

On the whole, I found Christopher Fox, to be a wholesome, enjoyable story – a very worthy successor to Dog Jack!