An interesting story, with beautiful Garth Williams illustrations, except for a disturbingly human face on the bear.

Fox Eyes, illustrated by Garth Williams

"There was once a spy, a red fox who came to spy on the opossums." So begins this tale of a fox who observes the animals around him over the course of the day, throwing all of them into a panic, as they imagine what this vulpine character might do with the knowledge of their various hiding places. The fox, in the meantime, forgets all about what he has seen, sleeping peacefully that night...

Originally published in 1951, with artwork by Jean Charlot, Margaret Wise Brown's Fox Eyes was republished in 1977, with new artwork by Garth Williams, celebrated for his illustrations for the Little House books, and such titles as A Cricket in Times Square. Although a lovely book, one with delightful depictions of the entire animal cast, somehow this later edition didn't quite match the earlier one for me, in aesthetic appeal. I'm surprised by this, as I usually greatly appreciate and enjoy Williams' work, but there was just something so unusual and striking about Charlot's original illustrations, that this edition couldn't compare. Tastes vary, of course, and this is still a charming version, if it is the only one the readers can obtain. Recommended to young fox lovers, and to Garth Williams fans. ( )

Fox Eyes, illustrated by Jean Charlot

A wandering fox sees many things during the course of his stroll in this picture-book from author Margaret Wise Brown, creator of such childhood classics as Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. He sees a den of opossums "playing possum," a rabbit frozen in a field, a squirrel hiding his nuts, a bear visiting his store of honey, a dog burying her bone, a toad camouflaged in a tree, and two children awake, when they are supposed to be napping. Although his spying "fox eyes" throw those creatures he has been observing into pandemonium, the fox himself returns home to a peaceful sleep, for, as the narrator informs us, "a fox can never remember the next day what he has seen the night before..."

A fascinating story, one which draws upon the theme of a fox's disquieting effect, in its depiction of how the other animals react to his vulpine spying, Fox Eyes presents an unusual idea, with its conclusion that foxes do not remember what they see, from one day to the next. I don't think I have ever encountered that notion elsewhere, and it made me wonder whether the author was attempting to communicate the idea that foxes, although they have great significance to other species, somehow preserve an independence from and indifference to those others. Whatever the case may be, I found the narrative here only middling, in terms of interest and engagement. The artwork, on the other hand, was striking. I had the good fortune to track down an edition with the original illustrations, done by Jean Charlot. There is also a later edition, from the 1970s, with artwork by Garth Williams.

The visuals here were quite interesting, graphically, with a limited color palette - just maroon, green and black - and stylized figures. The text itself is rendered in the same maroon hue as the fox. Each two-page spread features text and fox on one side, and a full-page depiction of the animals being observed on the other. Many of those depictions have a black or green background, which really makes them stand out. My favorite spread was probably the one with the tree toad:



This is a beautiful book, the first one I have seen that is illustrated by Jean Charlot. I will definitely have to track down more of his work! ( )

A fox goes around spying on all the other animals and even children who were supposed to be napping. He gets everyone all worked up so they do the opposite of their normal routine that night but the fox just goes to sleep like normal. Little does everyone else know that the fox can't remember from day to day what he has seen.

Ths book is about a fox that spies on everyone. When he goes to sleep he forgets every piece of information that he has heard that day.