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What Happened on Fox Street
Fox Street was a dead end. In Mo Wren's opinion, this was only one of many wonderful, distinguishing things about it.Mo lives on Fox Street with her dad and little sister, the Wild Child. Their house is in the middle of the block—right where a heart would be, if the street were a person. Fox Street has everything: a piano player, a fix-it man, the city's best burrito makers, a woman who cuts Mo's hair just right, not to mention a certain boy who wants to teach her how to skateboard. There's even a mean, spooky old lady, if ringing doorbells and running away, or leaving dead mice in mailboxes, is your idea of fun. Summers are Mo's favorite time, because her best friend, Mercedes, comes to stay.
Most important, though, Fox Street is where all Mo's memories of her mother live. The idea of anything changing on Fox Street is unimaginable—until it isn't.
This is the story of one unforgettable summer—a summer of alarming letters, mysterious errands, and surprising revelations—and how a tuft of bright red fur gives Mo the courage she needs.
218 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
10 people are currently reading
800 people want to read
About the author
Tricia Springstubb
31 books156 followersSister James Bernard, my first grade teacher, taught me how to read. Our class had 60 children (yes) and we went up and down the long rows, taking turns reading aloud. There was absolutely no reading ahead, which was torture. I was always dying to know What happened next? (though with Dick and Jane, the answer was usually, Not much.) As I grew up, I began to wonder not only what happened, but why, and much much later,inhabiting other people's stories wasn't enough. I began to make my own.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
January 28, 2012
Just finished this a day ago and this is not hyperbole: What Happened on Fox Street by Tricia Springstubb. If you work with children from third grade through middle school, you should read this book and attempt to press it into their hot little hands. It made me laugh, made me think, made me cry. The author conjured beautiful, descriptive sentences that I wish I had written. You won't regret reading What Happened on Fox Street. It will grab you from the first paragraph and hold you until the last page!
Mo and her five year old sister Dottie live on Fox Street (a dead end) with their dad. Mo defines her life by Fox Street: her relationships with her varyingly kookie neighbors, the rhythms of the neighborhood, and the memories people have of her dead mother. This is her universe, so when changes come, she feels threatened and must redefine both her street and herself. Through these changes—good, bad, and excruciatingly difficult—one thing sustains Mo: the possibility of someday seeing a real fox on Fox Street.
Though the narrative is realistic fiction, Mo has moments wonder and awe that feel touched by whimsy and the fantastic. She faces difficult situations, such as the possibility of moving, and struggling to be both a sister and a substitute mother of her younger sister, but she emerges with wisdom and a changed view of the world. You will, too!
Tricia Springstubb, you are my hero!
Mo and her five year old sister Dottie live on Fox Street (a dead end) with their dad. Mo defines her life by Fox Street: her relationships with her varyingly kookie neighbors, the rhythms of the neighborhood, and the memories people have of her dead mother. This is her universe, so when changes come, she feels threatened and must redefine both her street and herself. Through these changes—good, bad, and excruciatingly difficult—one thing sustains Mo: the possibility of someday seeing a real fox on Fox Street.
Though the narrative is realistic fiction, Mo has moments wonder and awe that feel touched by whimsy and the fantastic. She faces difficult situations, such as the possibility of moving, and struggling to be both a sister and a substitute mother of her younger sister, but she emerges with wisdom and a changed view of the world. You will, too!
Tricia Springstubb, you are my hero!
February 12, 2012
Even without the adorable graphic of a cuddly looking fox curled up in the O of Fox, I would have snatched this book up based on the title alone. I love vague, suggestive titles that refer to some life changing event, such as What I Saw and How I Lied, or How I Live Now. I think it harkens back to the most intriguing title of my childhood, What Katy Did.* What Katy actually did proved to be a bit of a let down. Not so with the mysterious events alluded to in the title of What Happened on Fox Street.
To the outsider, Fox Street is kind of a run-down place, but not to Mo Wren. Mo loves everything about it. In fact Fox Street is only missing three things: Mo’s mother, who died very young, Mo’s best friend Mercedes, who is about to come for her annual summer visit, and a real, live fox. But Mo is certain that foxes do live on Fox Street, and is determined to discover one before the summer is out. But things get complicated when Mercedes announces that this may be her last summer and Mo discovers that her father is thinking about selling her beloved home and moving the family across town.
I love summer stories, and this book has all the heat, secret forts, popsicles and thunderstorms a girl wants in a summer book. I know that fall is the big season for books, but I do think it’s a bit odd that HarperCollins is releasing this in late August- you’ve missed out on a whole whack of summer readers. Perhaps the paperback will be a spring/summer release. But I digress.
Tricia Springstubb is officially one of my new favourite authors. Right from the first page, she pulls you into the rhythm and routines of Mo’s life. Her writing is fresh and inspired. I loved every single one of her characters, who leap right off the page and into your heart, from Mercedes’ formiddable grandmother to Mo’s little sister, the Wild Child. The tone and style of her writing reminded me of Jeanne Birdsall, who writes the fabulous Penderwicks books, except Springstubb’s setting is not quite so middle class and her characters have a bit more grit, not that I would call this a gritty novel. It is just as lovely as The Penderwicks, but with a different set of issues brought on by economic status.
Personally, I think the timing is just right for a book that features a family struggling with money, and how this affects kids. There were more than a few aspects of Fox Street that reminded me of Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books, specifically Ramona and her Father, in which Ramona’s father loses his job and the family has a serious readjustment period. Although it was published in 1977, the subject matter is completely relevant, if not the bell bottoms in the illustrations.
And yet Fox Street isn’t solely about money issues. Some of the action is informed by them, but ultimately it’s a story about family, friendship, community, and hope. What Happened on Fox Street, to me, is an example of pitch-perfect middle grade. Look out for Tricia Springstubb- she’s definitely an author to watch.
To the outsider, Fox Street is kind of a run-down place, but not to Mo Wren. Mo loves everything about it. In fact Fox Street is only missing three things: Mo’s mother, who died very young, Mo’s best friend Mercedes, who is about to come for her annual summer visit, and a real, live fox. But Mo is certain that foxes do live on Fox Street, and is determined to discover one before the summer is out. But things get complicated when Mercedes announces that this may be her last summer and Mo discovers that her father is thinking about selling her beloved home and moving the family across town.
I love summer stories, and this book has all the heat, secret forts, popsicles and thunderstorms a girl wants in a summer book. I know that fall is the big season for books, but I do think it’s a bit odd that HarperCollins is releasing this in late August- you’ve missed out on a whole whack of summer readers. Perhaps the paperback will be a spring/summer release. But I digress.
Tricia Springstubb is officially one of my new favourite authors. Right from the first page, she pulls you into the rhythm and routines of Mo’s life. Her writing is fresh and inspired. I loved every single one of her characters, who leap right off the page and into your heart, from Mercedes’ formiddable grandmother to Mo’s little sister, the Wild Child. The tone and style of her writing reminded me of Jeanne Birdsall, who writes the fabulous Penderwicks books, except Springstubb’s setting is not quite so middle class and her characters have a bit more grit, not that I would call this a gritty novel. It is just as lovely as The Penderwicks, but with a different set of issues brought on by economic status.
Personally, I think the timing is just right for a book that features a family struggling with money, and how this affects kids. There were more than a few aspects of Fox Street that reminded me of Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books, specifically Ramona and her Father, in which Ramona’s father loses his job and the family has a serious readjustment period. Although it was published in 1977, the subject matter is completely relevant, if not the bell bottoms in the illustrations.
And yet Fox Street isn’t solely about money issues. Some of the action is informed by them, but ultimately it’s a story about family, friendship, community, and hope. What Happened on Fox Street, to me, is an example of pitch-perfect middle grade. Look out for Tricia Springstubb- she’s definitely an author to watch.
Read
April 14, 2022DNF at about 50%. Just didn’t have an interesting plot.
August 21, 2011
Lovely realistic middle fiction! Mo Wren lives on fox Street a cul de sac that is just about perfect, there is music, food and friends in abundance even if the potholes grow and the houses need paint and perhaps a bit of repair. The house Mo shares with Dottie, Dad and the memory of Mom are all she has ever known or wants to know.
This is a summer of change though- Pi the boy up the street is suddenly interesting, Mercedes who spends every summer with Da who is now unwell, is very aware this will be the last visit, Dad is morose and Mo is the only one who takes care of Dottie and the house.
It is all too much! Any now at every turn Mo is running into that most pernicious of theories- ..."It's a necessary evil." as a girl who thinks, she wonders, where is the line? .
Amid a summer of frustration, change and anger Mo comes to terms with inevitable acceptance of the huge loss she and her family must face coming to grips with the adjustments that will help them build a new and happy life.
This is a summer of change though- Pi the boy up the street is suddenly interesting, Mercedes who spends every summer with Da who is now unwell, is very aware this will be the last visit, Dad is morose and Mo is the only one who takes care of Dottie and the house.
It is all too much! Any now at every turn Mo is running into that most pernicious of theories- ..."It's a necessary evil." as a girl who thinks, she wonders, where is the line? .
Amid a summer of frustration, change and anger Mo comes to terms with inevitable acceptance of the huge loss she and her family must face coming to grips with the adjustments that will help them build a new and happy life.
March 9, 2011
Mo lives on Fox Street, a cul-de-sac in slow decline, but also her pride and joy and her favorite place in the world. At one end is a busy urban thoroughfare with a pub on the corner. At the other is the Green Kingdom, a ravine separating the residential neighborhood from a metropark, and a great source of solace and magic for 11-year-old Mo. And she needs solace and magic, for lots of changes are afoot. Her long-awaited best friend returns for the summer, but Mercedes has issues in her new home and Mo can't connect to her like always before. And a developer takes an interest in buying and razing all the homes on Fox Street to build a business development. Mo is also coping with an intimidating elderly neighbor, a pesky younger sister, her unhappily employed father, a potential love interest, a quest to sight a real fox in the ravine, a drought, and the imminent revelation of several big secrets. It's a lot to cram into a children's novel, and first-time novelist Springstubb is largely successful at it, but I think she did a better job at depicting the street as community than tying up all the story lines she placed on that street. Props for the Cleveland setting. I look forward to Springstubb's next book.
December 13, 2010
Mo Wren, almost 11, is unsettled. Things are changing on Fox Street, the small, unique, dead end street where she lives, knows everyone, and where her memories are, especially the memories of her mother. Her father works long hours and wants to move, she is left in charge of her little sister, the Wild Child, and this may be the last summer her best friend is around. She has always wanted to see a fox, the one she thinks should live in the ravine at the end of the street. Finding a tuft of fur gives her hope, something to hang on to, literally and figuratively. The writing is charming and the street is populated with many unique characters.
Mo is a thinker and someone many girls will relate to, someone I can relate to:
Being a thinker was a various thing. Sometimes you felt like a turtle, with a nice, private built-in place to shelter. Other times it was like having a bucket stuck on your head, making the world clang and echo and never stop.
Mo is a thinker and someone many girls will relate to, someone I can relate to:
Being a thinker was a various thing. Sometimes you felt like a turtle, with a nice, private built-in place to shelter. Other times it was like having a bucket stuck on your head, making the world clang and echo and never stop.
July 11, 2011
I enjoyed this contemporary story about a young girl who lives in a somewhat shabby Cleveland neighborhood. Her mother has died, so eleven-year-old Mo Wren is now helping her father keep the family together. Her best friend, who moved away, is back in town for the summer, so life should be good. But Mo intercepts a letter from a realtor that implies that her house (and the neighborhood) are in danger of being seized by eminent domain. Worried that her father will be quick to sell, Mo hides the letter. She does not want to leave her neighborhood, where her friends and memories are.
The author uses very vivid language and shorter sentences to keep the a younger reader's interest and to fully realize her setting. Sometimes that makes the flow a bit choppy. But I enjoyed this heartwarming tale that reminded me a bit of Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine in its nostalgic evocation of summer.
The author uses very vivid language and shorter sentences to keep the a younger reader's interest and to fully realize her setting. Sometimes that makes the flow a bit choppy. But I enjoyed this heartwarming tale that reminded me a bit of Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine in its nostalgic evocation of summer.
April 5, 2012
A story that feels contemporary and old fashioned at the same time, that's bursting with middle-childhood impatience yet mellowed by an impressively mature thoughtfulness. Immediately we feel right at home on Fox Street, and get to know its inhabitants: Mo and her father and little sister, Merce who's come to visit for the summer, Da (Merce's grandmother), and a host of other neighbours whom we learn to view very differently by the end of the book.
What seems like an awful lot of complicated situations all eventually come to make sense, and though some have been difficult to face there's so much more love in the reconciliation than in the falsely comfortable ignorance that kept people apart.
Recommended for readers who like character and friendship stories, it's not exactly Anne of Green Gables but its warmth and youthfulness are still pleasantly contagious. www.GoodReadingGuide.com
What seems like an awful lot of complicated situations all eventually come to make sense, and though some have been difficult to face there's so much more love in the reconciliation than in the falsely comfortable ignorance that kept people apart.
Recommended for readers who like character and friendship stories, it's not exactly Anne of Green Gables but its warmth and youthfulness are still pleasantly contagious. www.GoodReadingGuide.com
November 18, 2010
Never in my life have I seen such a profound case of Newbery-mongering.
Dead mother (Dicey's Song)? Check.
Friendship going through a coming-of-age struggle (When You Reach Me)? Check.
Lovable yet irritating younger sibling who gets into trouble (Kira-Kira)? Check.
A community coming together to fight The Man (Holes)? Check.
FREAKING DANGEROUS RIVER (BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA)? CHECK!!!
The book itself wasn't awful, but it honestly seemed like it tried to touch on every Newbery-loving theme in existence. Maybe this means it's the most universal book in existence, but I find that doubtful.
Dead mother (Dicey's Song)? Check.
Friendship going through a coming-of-age struggle (When You Reach Me)? Check.
Lovable yet irritating younger sibling who gets into trouble (Kira-Kira)? Check.
A community coming together to fight The Man (Holes)? Check.
FREAKING DANGEROUS RIVER (BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA)? CHECK!!!
The book itself wasn't awful, but it honestly seemed like it tried to touch on every Newbery-loving theme in existence. Maybe this means it's the most universal book in existence, but I find that doubtful.
December 6, 2010
This has Newbery written all over it. I loved the book, but I do understand others' criticism of it being too Newbery-ish. The characters were beautifully written; I would even go so far as to call Fox Street itself a character. And, maybe because it takes place in Cleveland, it reminded me a lot of my neighborhood growing up. I probably would've given the book four stars had it not been for the strong effect the characters had on me.
February 10, 2014
Mo has lived her entire ten years on a short dead end street with her father and little sister. (Mom is dead.) Her best friend comes every summer to stay with her grandmother across the street from Mo. Mo loves it here and is hoping to one day actually see the fox that the street is named for. Her dad, however, is thinking of selling out to a developer and fulfilling his dream of opening a restaurant with the proceeds. Boredom ensues.
November 4, 2010
You know how agents and editors and writing guides like to say that the setting should be a character in your story? No? Well, gee, this is awkward:) But if you have heard that, and I’d guess you have and you wondered what it meant, read What Happened on Fox Street. Fox Street is a character in this novel, I would even say a main character. Not the main character, but a main character.
Mo Wren, an eleven-year-old girl, is the protagonist, but only just barely. I think it’s telling that the first line in the novel is about Fox Street and the second is about Mo, and more, it’s about her thoughts on Fox Street: FOX STREET WAS A DEAD END. In Mo Wren’s opinion, this was only one of many wonderful, distinguishing things about it. Oh, and that “dead end” thing totally metaphoric resonance I won’t spoil for you.
Speaking of metaphor, here’s another great one for you from the opening pages: Paradise Avenue bordered one end, and the ravine the other. Mo Wren’s house was just in the middle, where a heart would be, had Fox Street been a person. The opening pages continue in this fashion.
We meet Mo’s father, her sister, and then we learn: The wooden table was inscribed with dark hieroglyphicish slashes and crescents. Mo’s mother had been an absentminded person, prone to forgetting things like setting a hot pad beneath a skillet or casserole dish. That might just be the loudest had I ever read.
The truth, Esteemed Reader, is that I don’t really want to review this book so much as share with you little bits of the writing I so enjoyed. What Happened on Fox Street is a very sweet book and if you’re the type who cries easy, be warned that this one might just quietly wrap itself around your heart and squeeze the tears from you (isn’t that a lovely image—I wonder why no one’s putting my quotes on their book jackets).
Fox Street is a blue collar street in Cleveland, OH, which is actually really important. I’ll explain more in a moment, but first I suppose I should attempt a summary of the book. Mo Wren has stepped in for her dead mother in the raising of her “wild child” sister Dottie. Her best friend Mercedes is living across the street from her once again after an absence, but she isn’t staying. Maybe no one is.
There are unique characters to get to know living in every house on Fox Street, but we don’t have time for that. As the novel proceeds, we see them as Mo sees them and they add to the character of Fox Street itself. I won’t tell all that happened on Fox Street, but a big part of it is that a big business man is offering Mo’s father cash for the family house. Could be he’s a sneaky shark in a suit trying to bust up the street so it can be turned into something else—an office park, maybe.
Could this be the end of Fox Street? It could be. You’ll have to read the novel to find out for sure, and I hope you will. It’s a great read and worth your time. Mo is easy to identify with and it’s hard not to root for someone fighting to save their childhood neighborhood and way of life. I think people never quite live anywhere as wonderful as where they spent their childhood provided their childhood was not awful.
On its surface, What Happened on Fox Street is a book about nostalgia and the constant changing nature of life, not always for the better. It’s also about how connected each of us are to everyone else—and not just in an Avatar-magic-hippie-tree kind of way, but as a practical matter of course. We see not only two children being raised by a village, but the necessity of a that village in the absence of their mother.
For the average reader these two themes are sufficient, they are beautifully carried out, and if the reader looks no closer, he or she still got their money’s worth. But for the reader who digs deeper there is a wealth of philosophical discussion at hand. One of Mo’s big ponderings, and she is often referred to as “the thinker,” is “is there such a thing as necessary evil.” I’ve been puzzling over it since I finished the book, and I must admit I’m lot more wary of that phrase than ever before.
The other story—and I’m sure you think I’m obsessed by now, Esteemed Reader, with my postings of Elizabeth Warren videos and my plugs for Robert Reich novels—is the story of capitalism. But I’m not seeing things, I swear. Capitalism is What Happened On Fox Street, for better or for worse. Wealthier folks desiring greater wealth at the destruction of the poor who acquiesce to it in part and who, when given money, join the party of desiring more wealth.
I won’t list all of the instances in the book in which money is discussed; this review is already too long. But the word capitalism appears multiple times throughout the novel, and there’s no way that’s a coincidence. But I’ll leave you with a telling comment from Mercedes, whose mother has just married a wealthy man and been able to leave Fox Street behind:
“It’s… it’s weird, Mo. But I’m afraid he’s infecting me… With the snob virus. Monette and I, we always lived in such butt-ugly apartments. The last one, if you sat on a toilet you had to put your feet in the tub. After you checked for roaches. But now we live in this stupid mini-mansion, and I… I don’t know.” Mercedes kept her eyes on that spot just beyond Mo. “You get used to nice things. Real fast… But Fox Street is nice.”
And that’s it for this week. You should of course buy a copy of What Happened on Fox Street and don’t forget to check back on Thursday to see Tricia Springstubb face the 7 Questions and then again on Saturday for literary agent John Rudolph. I’ll leave you with some of my other favorite descriptions from the book:
He (Mo’s father—MGN) crooked a finger under her chin. Two lines arched up between his eyes and disappeared into his forehead, forming a tree with no leaves. Mo hated how those lines had dug in deeper every time she looked.
And then he laughed. Not his real laugh, but a laugh like something hard hitting something even harder.
Starchbutt cocked her head, like a robin just before it nails a poor unsuspecting worm.
Mo shrank back like a poked pill bug.
The air was a sponge begging to be wrung out…
To read an interview with author Tricia Springstubb, or to read interviews with other writers and literary agents, check out my blog at www.middlegradeninja.blogspot.com
Mo Wren, an eleven-year-old girl, is the protagonist, but only just barely. I think it’s telling that the first line in the novel is about Fox Street and the second is about Mo, and more, it’s about her thoughts on Fox Street: FOX STREET WAS A DEAD END. In Mo Wren’s opinion, this was only one of many wonderful, distinguishing things about it. Oh, and that “dead end” thing totally metaphoric resonance I won’t spoil for you.
Speaking of metaphor, here’s another great one for you from the opening pages: Paradise Avenue bordered one end, and the ravine the other. Mo Wren’s house was just in the middle, where a heart would be, had Fox Street been a person. The opening pages continue in this fashion.
We meet Mo’s father, her sister, and then we learn: The wooden table was inscribed with dark hieroglyphicish slashes and crescents. Mo’s mother had been an absentminded person, prone to forgetting things like setting a hot pad beneath a skillet or casserole dish. That might just be the loudest had I ever read.
The truth, Esteemed Reader, is that I don’t really want to review this book so much as share with you little bits of the writing I so enjoyed. What Happened on Fox Street is a very sweet book and if you’re the type who cries easy, be warned that this one might just quietly wrap itself around your heart and squeeze the tears from you (isn’t that a lovely image—I wonder why no one’s putting my quotes on their book jackets).
Fox Street is a blue collar street in Cleveland, OH, which is actually really important. I’ll explain more in a moment, but first I suppose I should attempt a summary of the book. Mo Wren has stepped in for her dead mother in the raising of her “wild child” sister Dottie. Her best friend Mercedes is living across the street from her once again after an absence, but she isn’t staying. Maybe no one is.
There are unique characters to get to know living in every house on Fox Street, but we don’t have time for that. As the novel proceeds, we see them as Mo sees them and they add to the character of Fox Street itself. I won’t tell all that happened on Fox Street, but a big part of it is that a big business man is offering Mo’s father cash for the family house. Could be he’s a sneaky shark in a suit trying to bust up the street so it can be turned into something else—an office park, maybe.
Could this be the end of Fox Street? It could be. You’ll have to read the novel to find out for sure, and I hope you will. It’s a great read and worth your time. Mo is easy to identify with and it’s hard not to root for someone fighting to save their childhood neighborhood and way of life. I think people never quite live anywhere as wonderful as where they spent their childhood provided their childhood was not awful.
On its surface, What Happened on Fox Street is a book about nostalgia and the constant changing nature of life, not always for the better. It’s also about how connected each of us are to everyone else—and not just in an Avatar-magic-hippie-tree kind of way, but as a practical matter of course. We see not only two children being raised by a village, but the necessity of a that village in the absence of their mother.
For the average reader these two themes are sufficient, they are beautifully carried out, and if the reader looks no closer, he or she still got their money’s worth. But for the reader who digs deeper there is a wealth of philosophical discussion at hand. One of Mo’s big ponderings, and she is often referred to as “the thinker,” is “is there such a thing as necessary evil.” I’ve been puzzling over it since I finished the book, and I must admit I’m lot more wary of that phrase than ever before.
The other story—and I’m sure you think I’m obsessed by now, Esteemed Reader, with my postings of Elizabeth Warren videos and my plugs for Robert Reich novels—is the story of capitalism. But I’m not seeing things, I swear. Capitalism is What Happened On Fox Street, for better or for worse. Wealthier folks desiring greater wealth at the destruction of the poor who acquiesce to it in part and who, when given money, join the party of desiring more wealth.
I won’t list all of the instances in the book in which money is discussed; this review is already too long. But the word capitalism appears multiple times throughout the novel, and there’s no way that’s a coincidence. But I’ll leave you with a telling comment from Mercedes, whose mother has just married a wealthy man and been able to leave Fox Street behind:
“It’s… it’s weird, Mo. But I’m afraid he’s infecting me… With the snob virus. Monette and I, we always lived in such butt-ugly apartments. The last one, if you sat on a toilet you had to put your feet in the tub. After you checked for roaches. But now we live in this stupid mini-mansion, and I… I don’t know.” Mercedes kept her eyes on that spot just beyond Mo. “You get used to nice things. Real fast… But Fox Street is nice.”
And that’s it for this week. You should of course buy a copy of What Happened on Fox Street and don’t forget to check back on Thursday to see Tricia Springstubb face the 7 Questions and then again on Saturday for literary agent John Rudolph. I’ll leave you with some of my other favorite descriptions from the book:
He (Mo’s father—MGN) crooked a finger under her chin. Two lines arched up between his eyes and disappeared into his forehead, forming a tree with no leaves. Mo hated how those lines had dug in deeper every time she looked.
And then he laughed. Not his real laugh, but a laugh like something hard hitting something even harder.
Starchbutt cocked her head, like a robin just before it nails a poor unsuspecting worm.
Mo shrank back like a poked pill bug.
The air was a sponge begging to be wrung out…
To read an interview with author Tricia Springstubb, or to read interviews with other writers and literary agents, check out my blog at www.middlegradeninja.blogspot.com
February 26, 2019
22 May 2010 WHAT HAPPENED ON FOX STREET by Tricia Springstubb, HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, August 2010, 224p., ISBN: 978-0-06-198635-2
"If you hear that same sweet song again will you know why?
Anyone who sings a tune so sweet is passing by.
Laugh in the sunshine, sing;
Cry in the dark, fly through the night"
-- Hunter/Garcia, "Bird Song"
Almost-ten-year-old Mo (Maureen Jewel) Wren is a thinker. And this summer there will be quite a nest full of surprises and potential changes to think about.
"What was stupid about trying hard, about taking a risk, about wishing to fly? Everything, that's what! It was worse than stupid to gamble with gravity. Stay put, stay on the ground, stay safe!"
Mo has spent her entire life on Fox Street: five houses shoulder-to-shoulder on either side of a road in northern Ohio, whose dead end overlooks an expansive, forested ravine. Mo has had to spend the last three of these years motherless. And when past changes have had such a devastating impact upon one's young life, you can come to fear more of them -- like when your best friend arrives for the summer and you discover that she seems to suddenly be thinking and acting differently.
"Sometimes change comes at you like a broadside accident.
There is chaos in the order, random things you can't prevent."
-- Joni Mitchell, "Good Friends"
Mo's best friend is Mercedes Jasmine Walcott who lives downstate during the school year and then travels to Fox Street to spend summers with the ailing maternal grandmother who lives across the street from the Wren house. But this could well be the friends' last summer together here.
Mercedes' mother Monette, who was raised on Fox Street -- a gifted child in, what was, the first family of color to live in the neighborhood -- has just married for the first time and is now going to belatedly get to achieve her dream of attending college.
"Mercedes had never known her father. When Monette discovered she was pregnant, she'd moved away from Fox Street and never looked back. She refused to even say who he was -- he was sweet and he was gone, that was all the information Mercedes had. Here was yet one more way Merce and Mo were alike, beside having identical initials, and being born the very same autumn, and both adoring Fox Street: They were both half orphans."
Mo has a fast-moving, bottle-collecting, malapropism-spewing little sister named Dottie, who is affectionately known throughout the neighborhood as the Wild Child. They have a father who is clearly unhappy in his job with the municipal water authority and is still clearly mourning the loss of his daughters' spirited and absentminded mother.
"The cardinal broke off its song midnote, and the bird arrowed out of sight. The yard grew cemetery quiet."
We also meet other residents of Fox Street including the wild, trouble-making Baggot boys (The oldest is actually a sensitive skateboarder who clearly adores Mo.); Mrs. Petrone, who works for the funeral parlor and does haircutting at her home; Mr. Duong, the fix-it man; and Ms. Hugg, the piano player.
And then there is Mo's enigmatic, white-haired next door neighbor, Gertrude Steinbott, whom Mo refers to as Starchbutt:
"Mrs. Steinbott whiled away her hours pruning shrubs within an inch of their lives and knitting, though who all those itchy hats and scarves could be for remained a mystery. No one ever came to visit her. Her life was solitary as the unplanet Pluto."Why was she so alone? And so stone hearted? Which came first? It was as hard to determine as the chicken and the egg, a problem Mo had given some thought."
WHAT HAPPENED ON FOX STREET is one of those great stories with a helping of mystery that is so much fun to read the second time through: Now that I'd seen the completed puzzle, I went back again and laughed aloud as I encountered all of the clues whose significance I missed the first time around.
This is also one of those memorable stories in which the world revolves around one little neighborhood. I remember back when I was nine, how I spent many contented afternoons reading about the happenings on Klickitat Street. All these years later, I still recall how thoroughly I enjoyed being immersed in those tales. Such is the feeling I've just gotten, having had the pleasure of spending quality time hanging out on Fox Street (and in the adjoining woods).
"Being a thinker was a various thing. Sometimes you felt like a turtle, with a nice, private built-in place to shelter. Other times, it was like having a bucket stuck on your head, making the world clang and echo and never stop."
This is an absolute must-have for elementary collections.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com
"If you hear that same sweet song again will you know why?
Anyone who sings a tune so sweet is passing by.
Laugh in the sunshine, sing;
Cry in the dark, fly through the night"
-- Hunter/Garcia, "Bird Song"
Almost-ten-year-old Mo (Maureen Jewel) Wren is a thinker. And this summer there will be quite a nest full of surprises and potential changes to think about.
"What was stupid about trying hard, about taking a risk, about wishing to fly? Everything, that's what! It was worse than stupid to gamble with gravity. Stay put, stay on the ground, stay safe!"
Mo has spent her entire life on Fox Street: five houses shoulder-to-shoulder on either side of a road in northern Ohio, whose dead end overlooks an expansive, forested ravine. Mo has had to spend the last three of these years motherless. And when past changes have had such a devastating impact upon one's young life, you can come to fear more of them -- like when your best friend arrives for the summer and you discover that she seems to suddenly be thinking and acting differently.
"Sometimes change comes at you like a broadside accident.
There is chaos in the order, random things you can't prevent."
-- Joni Mitchell, "Good Friends"
Mo's best friend is Mercedes Jasmine Walcott who lives downstate during the school year and then travels to Fox Street to spend summers with the ailing maternal grandmother who lives across the street from the Wren house. But this could well be the friends' last summer together here.
Mercedes' mother Monette, who was raised on Fox Street -- a gifted child in, what was, the first family of color to live in the neighborhood -- has just married for the first time and is now going to belatedly get to achieve her dream of attending college.
"Mercedes had never known her father. When Monette discovered she was pregnant, she'd moved away from Fox Street and never looked back. She refused to even say who he was -- he was sweet and he was gone, that was all the information Mercedes had. Here was yet one more way Merce and Mo were alike, beside having identical initials, and being born the very same autumn, and both adoring Fox Street: They were both half orphans."
Mo has a fast-moving, bottle-collecting, malapropism-spewing little sister named Dottie, who is affectionately known throughout the neighborhood as the Wild Child. They have a father who is clearly unhappy in his job with the municipal water authority and is still clearly mourning the loss of his daughters' spirited and absentminded mother.
"The cardinal broke off its song midnote, and the bird arrowed out of sight. The yard grew cemetery quiet."
We also meet other residents of Fox Street including the wild, trouble-making Baggot boys (The oldest is actually a sensitive skateboarder who clearly adores Mo.); Mrs. Petrone, who works for the funeral parlor and does haircutting at her home; Mr. Duong, the fix-it man; and Ms. Hugg, the piano player.
And then there is Mo's enigmatic, white-haired next door neighbor, Gertrude Steinbott, whom Mo refers to as Starchbutt:
"Mrs. Steinbott whiled away her hours pruning shrubs within an inch of their lives and knitting, though who all those itchy hats and scarves could be for remained a mystery. No one ever came to visit her. Her life was solitary as the unplanet Pluto."Why was she so alone? And so stone hearted? Which came first? It was as hard to determine as the chicken and the egg, a problem Mo had given some thought."
WHAT HAPPENED ON FOX STREET is one of those great stories with a helping of mystery that is so much fun to read the second time through: Now that I'd seen the completed puzzle, I went back again and laughed aloud as I encountered all of the clues whose significance I missed the first time around.
This is also one of those memorable stories in which the world revolves around one little neighborhood. I remember back when I was nine, how I spent many contented afternoons reading about the happenings on Klickitat Street. All these years later, I still recall how thoroughly I enjoyed being immersed in those tales. Such is the feeling I've just gotten, having had the pleasure of spending quality time hanging out on Fox Street (and in the adjoining woods).
"Being a thinker was a various thing. Sometimes you felt like a turtle, with a nice, private built-in place to shelter. Other times, it was like having a bucket stuck on your head, making the world clang and echo and never stop."
This is an absolute must-have for elementary collections.
Richie Partington, MLIS
Richie's Picks http://richiespicks.pbworks.com
https://www.facebook.com/richiespicks/
richiepartington@gmail.com
November 5, 2018
Could you imagine living on a street that never changed until one day it did? In the book What Happened on Fox Street by Tricia Springstubb, there were big changes coming to town. The main character Mo Wren believes, “FOX STREET WAS A DEAD END. In Mo Wren’s opinion, this was only one of the many wonderful, distinguishing things about it.” In this book it tells you how everything on Fox Street was the same until something changed. The characters in this story are Mo Wren, Mr. Wren, Mercedes Walcott, Da, and Dottie. The setting of this story is on Fox street in Ohio and the time is present. The conflict of this story is that things on Fox street are going to change and Mo does not want anything to change because all of her memories with her friends and mother (who has passed away) are on Fox street. This book is realistic fiction. This is realistic fiction because this is something that could have happened in real life but most likely has not happened.
In the story there are many conflicts. For example, one internal conflict is between Mo and her feelings about her mom. “Deeply as Mo loved Fox Street, she was forced to admit it lacked two things: 1. Foxes. 2. Girls. Three things, if you counted her mother. But Mo tried not to do that.” This excerpt from the book is character vs. self because its Mo trying to live her life without a her mom and trying to understand the way the world works. This type of conflict is internal because it’s a problem that is inside of Mo. Another type of conflict is an external conflict. An example of an external conflict is between Mercedes and her stepdad. “Especially since, Mercedes went on, this is my last summer coming. Tahitian Treat shot out Mo’s nose. Whaaaaa? It’s a miracle I got up here at all. My stepfather registered me for one of those enrichment camps where you learn calculus in the morning and French in the afternoon and for extra big fun you take a trip to a museum. He says a girl with my potential shouldn’t waste a whole summer doing nothing.” This is character vs. character because it’s Mercedes, one of the main characters and Mo’s best friend, vs. her stepfather. He will not let her go back next summer to visit Mo because he is making her go to a enrichment camp. This type of conflict is external because it’s a problem between two characters.
I enjoyed the book, What Happened on Fox Street, because I thought it was interesting that nothing had changed on Fox Street until Mo started discovering secrets that would turn their worlds upside down. I also enjoyed it because it was never really boring. A type of reader who would enjoy this book would be any girl in middle school or younger and someone who likes realistic fiction books with different twists and turns.
In the story there are many conflicts. For example, one internal conflict is between Mo and her feelings about her mom. “Deeply as Mo loved Fox Street, she was forced to admit it lacked two things: 1. Foxes. 2. Girls. Three things, if you counted her mother. But Mo tried not to do that.” This excerpt from the book is character vs. self because its Mo trying to live her life without a her mom and trying to understand the way the world works. This type of conflict is internal because it’s a problem that is inside of Mo. Another type of conflict is an external conflict. An example of an external conflict is between Mercedes and her stepdad. “Especially since, Mercedes went on, this is my last summer coming. Tahitian Treat shot out Mo’s nose. Whaaaaa? It’s a miracle I got up here at all. My stepfather registered me for one of those enrichment camps where you learn calculus in the morning and French in the afternoon and for extra big fun you take a trip to a museum. He says a girl with my potential shouldn’t waste a whole summer doing nothing.” This is character vs. character because it’s Mercedes, one of the main characters and Mo’s best friend, vs. her stepfather. He will not let her go back next summer to visit Mo because he is making her go to a enrichment camp. This type of conflict is external because it’s a problem between two characters.
I enjoyed the book, What Happened on Fox Street, because I thought it was interesting that nothing had changed on Fox Street until Mo started discovering secrets that would turn their worlds upside down. I also enjoyed it because it was never really boring. A type of reader who would enjoy this book would be any girl in middle school or younger and someone who likes realistic fiction books with different twists and turns.
December 31, 2016
This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.
What Happened on Fox Street is a realistic fiction middle grade novel about Mo Wren, a young girl whose single dad has sort of given up in the aftermath of his wife's death, leaving Mo to do the thinking and worrying for the entire family, as well as look out for her "Wild Child" younger sister, Dottie. When developers begin sending letters to the Wrens and their neighbors, Mo realizes she might lose her home on Fox Street that contains memories of her mother, and strives to prevent this from happening. She also must deal with changes in her newly-rich best friend, Mercedes, who is slowly coming to important realizations about her own family.
This book explores similar themes to a 2011 title I really love, One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street. Because I loved Orange Street so much, at times, this book didn't feel like it measured up. Fox Street is a really strong novel in its own right, however, and I found myself becoming more interested and more invested in the characters as the book went on. The strongest character in the book, in my opinion, is actually Dottie, the eccentric, neglected, wandering younger sister. Her behavior and her need for attention from each of the neighbors was really heartbreaking, and drove home the dysnfunction of the Wren family, even when Mo wasn't sophisticated enough to put the family's problems into words. I was also really pleased with the way the author handled the death of Mo's mother. Though this event was clearly a traumatic one in Mo's life, the narrative didn't dwell completely on the mourning process - rather, this is a book about finding ways to move on after a major loss.
What I enjoyed most about this book, I think, was the way the neighborhood came to life. The different buildings and people on Fox Street were so vivid in my mind, and though the street map at the start of the book wasn't labeled, the author's descriptions made it easy to pick out each family's home without hesitation. Additionally, though I won't spoil the ending, I think this book has one of the strongest ending lines in any children's book I've ever read. Not only does it wrap up the threads of the story, it also hints at the changes brought about between Mo and her sister, and what their relationship might be like in the future.
I think this story will work best for readers who are already hooked on realistic fiction. I'm looking forward to reading Mo Wren, Lost and Found, which was published this past September, to find out what happens next for the Wrens.
What Happened on Fox Street is a realistic fiction middle grade novel about Mo Wren, a young girl whose single dad has sort of given up in the aftermath of his wife's death, leaving Mo to do the thinking and worrying for the entire family, as well as look out for her "Wild Child" younger sister, Dottie. When developers begin sending letters to the Wrens and their neighbors, Mo realizes she might lose her home on Fox Street that contains memories of her mother, and strives to prevent this from happening. She also must deal with changes in her newly-rich best friend, Mercedes, who is slowly coming to important realizations about her own family.
This book explores similar themes to a 2011 title I really love, One Day and One Amazing Morning on Orange Street. Because I loved Orange Street so much, at times, this book didn't feel like it measured up. Fox Street is a really strong novel in its own right, however, and I found myself becoming more interested and more invested in the characters as the book went on. The strongest character in the book, in my opinion, is actually Dottie, the eccentric, neglected, wandering younger sister. Her behavior and her need for attention from each of the neighbors was really heartbreaking, and drove home the dysnfunction of the Wren family, even when Mo wasn't sophisticated enough to put the family's problems into words. I was also really pleased with the way the author handled the death of Mo's mother. Though this event was clearly a traumatic one in Mo's life, the narrative didn't dwell completely on the mourning process - rather, this is a book about finding ways to move on after a major loss.
What I enjoyed most about this book, I think, was the way the neighborhood came to life. The different buildings and people on Fox Street were so vivid in my mind, and though the street map at the start of the book wasn't labeled, the author's descriptions made it easy to pick out each family's home without hesitation. Additionally, though I won't spoil the ending, I think this book has one of the strongest ending lines in any children's book I've ever read. Not only does it wrap up the threads of the story, it also hints at the changes brought about between Mo and her sister, and what their relationship might be like in the future.
I think this story will work best for readers who are already hooked on realistic fiction. I'm looking forward to reading Mo Wren, Lost and Found, which was published this past September, to find out what happens next for the Wrens.
April 2, 2015
Booklist Reviews
"*Starred Review* Fox Street is missing a few things. One of them is foxes. The other is Mo Wren's mother, who died when Mo's sister, Dottie, was little more than a toddler. Even though they're not around, 10-year-old Mo never stops looking for a fox in the ravine where her street dead-ends. And she never stops missing her mother, even as she takes on the responsibility of being in charge of wild-child Dottie and helping her dad. Fox Street, however, is home to some wonderful things as well: good neighbors, a plum tree in the backyard, and in the summertime, a best friend, Mercedes, who comes to stay with her grandmother, Da. When Mercedes arrives, summer really begins, but this year it is full of conundrums and upsets for both girls as their lives change and truths are revealed. Mo especially sees that the harder she tries to hold on, the less she can control. Springstubb does a lovely job of mixing character, plot, and purpose in a story that contains both hardscrabble realities and moments of magic realism. Her fluency of language supports both scenes that are down and dirty and those that soar. But it is her ability to render Mo's tangle of emotions as her hopes and dreams collide with worries and fears that makes this so memorable."
Reviews Detail:
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Springstubb centers her story around Fox Street, a dead-end road where a cast of diverse, blue-collar characters eke out existences. To Mo Wren--an analytical, practical girl who lives with her overworked father and younger sister, Dottie, "the Wild Child"--Fox Street has just about everything, except the one thing Mo longs to find: foxes. Springstubb gently and wistfully describes a summer of tough changes for Mo: her best friend, Mercedes, announces she's not coming back (she has always spent summers on Fox Street with her grandmother), just as Mo's father threatens to relocate her own family. There is a lovely poetry to Springstubb's writing ("Just ahead lay a majestic, fallen tree, its bark thick and protective as the shingles on a house"), and her characters create the kind of interesting neighborhood most kids wish they had: Mrs. Steinbott, the "mean, spooky" neighbor, whose "life was solitary as the unplanet Pluto"; Mercedes's sensible grandmother; and the mischievous Baggott boys, who are named after zodiac signs. Mo's journey isn't particularly action packed, but in a singsong, lazy-summer-afternoon kind of way it's quite refreshing. Ages 8–12.
"*Starred Review* Fox Street is missing a few things. One of them is foxes. The other is Mo Wren's mother, who died when Mo's sister, Dottie, was little more than a toddler. Even though they're not around, 10-year-old Mo never stops looking for a fox in the ravine where her street dead-ends. And she never stops missing her mother, even as she takes on the responsibility of being in charge of wild-child Dottie and helping her dad. Fox Street, however, is home to some wonderful things as well: good neighbors, a plum tree in the backyard, and in the summertime, a best friend, Mercedes, who comes to stay with her grandmother, Da. When Mercedes arrives, summer really begins, but this year it is full of conundrums and upsets for both girls as their lives change and truths are revealed. Mo especially sees that the harder she tries to hold on, the less she can control. Springstubb does a lovely job of mixing character, plot, and purpose in a story that contains both hardscrabble realities and moments of magic realism. Her fluency of language supports both scenes that are down and dirty and those that soar. But it is her ability to render Mo's tangle of emotions as her hopes and dreams collide with worries and fears that makes this so memorable."
Reviews Detail:
Publishers Weekly Reviews
Springstubb centers her story around Fox Street, a dead-end road where a cast of diverse, blue-collar characters eke out existences. To Mo Wren--an analytical, practical girl who lives with her overworked father and younger sister, Dottie, "the Wild Child"--Fox Street has just about everything, except the one thing Mo longs to find: foxes. Springstubb gently and wistfully describes a summer of tough changes for Mo: her best friend, Mercedes, announces she's not coming back (she has always spent summers on Fox Street with her grandmother), just as Mo's father threatens to relocate her own family. There is a lovely poetry to Springstubb's writing ("Just ahead lay a majestic, fallen tree, its bark thick and protective as the shingles on a house"), and her characters create the kind of interesting neighborhood most kids wish they had: Mrs. Steinbott, the "mean, spooky" neighbor, whose "life was solitary as the unplanet Pluto"; Mercedes's sensible grandmother; and the mischievous Baggott boys, who are named after zodiac signs. Mo's journey isn't particularly action packed, but in a singsong, lazy-summer-afternoon kind of way it's quite refreshing. Ages 8–12.
May 18, 2011
a nice read with a character who would keep good company with Susan Patron's Lucky, Lauren Child's Clarice Bean, and Kate DiCamillo's India Opal (of Because of Winn Dixie)...
"Mo finds a great deal of her identity in Fox Street, a move would signify a significant change. But as we know and Mo finds slammed home, some changes are out of our hands; and some are. Mercedes is also working through her own signifiers, having changed from eking to wealth, single-parent to two, etc. The relationships in What Happened on Fox Street look to questions of how do we bind ourselves to each other, weather out the changes. What Happened on Fox Street is a lovely story about finding ourselves, each other, and community. It is about change, both the usual and unusual sort. The fox comes to represent hope, that magic and miracle can still happen. That that which came before still exists. That Mo isn’t alone in the increasing uncertainty that surrounds her. She needs proof that what she knows to be true is.
The story comes to a head as a rainstorm breaks upon the drought-ridden landscape. And then the sun comes out, though not into an easy conclusion. What Happened on Fox Street remains marvelously consistent throughout. While the book is hardly fluff, it doesn’t slug through one drama into the next, it keeps a fairly even keel. much is due to how Springstubb invites realist portraiture with a charming affect. Her original set of characters create an interest that invests the reader in the outcome, daily and overarching. They are flawed and quirky and believable. As I read What Happened on Fox Street, I thought of Susan Patron’s Lucky, Lauren Child’s Clarice Bean, and Kate DiCamillo’s Opal (Because of Winn Dixie); which is excellent company indeed. They share similar sensibilities and characters with whom you want to spend more time. I heard a rumor that there will be a sequel? I certainly hope so.
Tricia Sptringstubb is a storyteller I look forward to hearing more from. The writing is superb. You see none of the sweat, only the shine; the kind of effort that would easily go unnoticed if the book didn’t stand out so much from its peers.
I highly recommend this read. Girls and boys alike."
L @ omphaloskepsis
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/20...
"Mo finds a great deal of her identity in Fox Street, a move would signify a significant change. But as we know and Mo finds slammed home, some changes are out of our hands; and some are. Mercedes is also working through her own signifiers, having changed from eking to wealth, single-parent to two, etc. The relationships in What Happened on Fox Street look to questions of how do we bind ourselves to each other, weather out the changes. What Happened on Fox Street is a lovely story about finding ourselves, each other, and community. It is about change, both the usual and unusual sort. The fox comes to represent hope, that magic and miracle can still happen. That that which came before still exists. That Mo isn’t alone in the increasing uncertainty that surrounds her. She needs proof that what she knows to be true is.
The story comes to a head as a rainstorm breaks upon the drought-ridden landscape. And then the sun comes out, though not into an easy conclusion. What Happened on Fox Street remains marvelously consistent throughout. While the book is hardly fluff, it doesn’t slug through one drama into the next, it keeps a fairly even keel. much is due to how Springstubb invites realist portraiture with a charming affect. Her original set of characters create an interest that invests the reader in the outcome, daily and overarching. They are flawed and quirky and believable. As I read What Happened on Fox Street, I thought of Susan Patron’s Lucky, Lauren Child’s Clarice Bean, and Kate DiCamillo’s Opal (Because of Winn Dixie); which is excellent company indeed. They share similar sensibilities and characters with whom you want to spend more time. I heard a rumor that there will be a sequel? I certainly hope so.
Tricia Sptringstubb is a storyteller I look forward to hearing more from. The writing is superb. You see none of the sweat, only the shine; the kind of effort that would easily go unnoticed if the book didn’t stand out so much from its peers.
I highly recommend this read. Girls and boys alike."
L @ omphaloskepsis
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/20...
January 9, 2011
Loved this! 11-year-old Mo loves living on her dead end street. She knows all about all her neighbors. She loves exploring the wooded ravine past the end of the street. And even though she misses her mom, who was killed a few years before, she and her dad and her pesky little sister have worked things out, she thinks. They're a team. Every summer Mo's best friend, Mercedes comes to stay on Fox Street with her grandma, Da. But Da's health is failing, and Mercede's parents want her to come live with them.
And Mo's dad is not really happy--he hates his job with the water dept, hates leaving the girls alone so much, and dreams of opening a neighborhood, family type restaurant/bar. When a developer makes him an offer, Mo is frightened that he'll take it and ruin everything. She hasn't even ever seen a fox in the ravine. How can she leave Fox Street without ever seeing a fox?
But change is threatening, and Mo begins to wonder whether she really knows all about her neighbors. Grouchy Mrs. Steinbott is acting very strangely, and seems to be obsessed with Mercedes.
I loved the feel of the neighborhood, and especially the description of her relationship with her dad and with Mercedes, which goes through some really stressful times. And I LOVED not knowing how this was going to end--would he sell or not? Would she have to move or not? Who was really looking out for Dottie, her little sister? I really cared about these people.
It's unusual for a kids book with such a seemingly light tone to grapple with subjects like death, loss, and (even more unusual) the choices that adults have to make--"necessary evils" as her dad says.
And Mo's dad is not really happy--he hates his job with the water dept, hates leaving the girls alone so much, and dreams of opening a neighborhood, family type restaurant/bar. When a developer makes him an offer, Mo is frightened that he'll take it and ruin everything. She hasn't even ever seen a fox in the ravine. How can she leave Fox Street without ever seeing a fox?
But change is threatening, and Mo begins to wonder whether she really knows all about her neighbors. Grouchy Mrs. Steinbott is acting very strangely, and seems to be obsessed with Mercedes.
I loved the feel of the neighborhood, and especially the description of her relationship with her dad and with Mercedes, which goes through some really stressful times. And I LOVED not knowing how this was going to end--would he sell or not? Would she have to move or not? Who was really looking out for Dottie, her little sister? I really cared about these people.
It's unusual for a kids book with such a seemingly light tone to grapple with subjects like death, loss, and (even more unusual) the choices that adults have to make--"necessary evils" as her dad says.
December 6, 2011
Mo Wren has lived on Fox Street her whole life...Fox Street full of eccentric and odd neighbors, abundant wild life (but no fox?), and a lifetime of memories. All of that threatens to be taken away when her Dad entertains a notion to sell the house and live his dream of opening up a family-friendly sports grill.
Her best friend, Mercedes only visits in the summer when she spends the carefree, hot, lazy days of vacation with her grandmother Da. Mo looks forward to these times above anything. You see, Mo and Mercedes have a lot in common...Mercedes doesn't have a dad, never knew him and doesn't even know his name. Mo doesn't have a mother, she died when her sister Dottie was just a baby.
Mercedes finds Fox Street pretty much the same as she starts her summer vacation there, but a lot has changed in her life. Her mom, Monette has married and they want to bring Da home to live with them in Cincinnati...which may mean that Mercedes won't be visiting Fox Street after this summer!
I had a difficult time connecting with this story. Mo seems to be distracted most of the time and falls into ramblings and tangents that don't make much sense. I am just now realizing that the author may have wanted to write Mo with ADHD or some other disability that makes her easily ignitable, frequently confused, and fastly stubborn. I am not a fan of this book, not sure kids will get into it at all.
Her best friend, Mercedes only visits in the summer when she spends the carefree, hot, lazy days of vacation with her grandmother Da. Mo looks forward to these times above anything. You see, Mo and Mercedes have a lot in common...Mercedes doesn't have a dad, never knew him and doesn't even know his name. Mo doesn't have a mother, she died when her sister Dottie was just a baby.
Mercedes finds Fox Street pretty much the same as she starts her summer vacation there, but a lot has changed in her life. Her mom, Monette has married and they want to bring Da home to live with them in Cincinnati...which may mean that Mercedes won't be visiting Fox Street after this summer!
I had a difficult time connecting with this story. Mo seems to be distracted most of the time and falls into ramblings and tangents that don't make much sense. I am just now realizing that the author may have wanted to write Mo with ADHD or some other disability that makes her easily ignitable, frequently confused, and fastly stubborn. I am not a fan of this book, not sure kids will get into it at all.
November 19, 2010
I can't remember another children's book I've read recently that deals with the subject of corporate land development, so I almost feel like this book should be lauded for its originality in that department alone. However, I felt like the writing didn't always live up to this topic.
There were a lot of little things that did it for me: Mo's younger sister substituting words (which was cute at first but just became annoying and grating after awhile), the little details about the neighbors which were repeated and supposed to help us get to know them but didn't really, and the fact that a lot of the dialogue sounded so expository and unlike things a child would actually say. I can't pinpoint what they are but I felt like there were at least a couple of cringe-worthy, grossly unrealistic dialogue moments, particularly with Mo and Mercedes, with her explaining to her newly wealthy and relocated friend the importance of simple pleasures like getting pop and chips from the convenience store in their childhood home.
Some areas of the writing like that pulled me out of the story because they either seemed unbelievable, or like they were trying too hard to be believable. In the end, though, this is an interesting topic for kids covered with a lot of heart, albeit with a few cliches thrown in.
There were a lot of little things that did it for me: Mo's younger sister substituting words (which was cute at first but just became annoying and grating after awhile), the little details about the neighbors which were repeated and supposed to help us get to know them but didn't really, and the fact that a lot of the dialogue sounded so expository and unlike things a child would actually say. I can't pinpoint what they are but I felt like there were at least a couple of cringe-worthy, grossly unrealistic dialogue moments, particularly with Mo and Mercedes, with her explaining to her newly wealthy and relocated friend the importance of simple pleasures like getting pop and chips from the convenience store in their childhood home.
Some areas of the writing like that pulled me out of the story because they either seemed unbelievable, or like they were trying too hard to be believable. In the end, though, this is an interesting topic for kids covered with a lot of heart, albeit with a few cliches thrown in.
March 7, 2011
What Happened on Fox Street by Tricia Springstubb (2010)
Contemporary Realism, 218 pages
Fox Street is a block full of families, best friends, and a dead-end that really is the beginning of a ravine and a Green Kingdom, overflowing with secrets and nature. For Mo Wren, Fox street is the best place on earth, even during the worst draught of her lifetime and without her mother whose memory still lives on in Mo’s surroundings. With her mother gone, Mo becomes responsible for many of her family’s needs and is shocked to hear that her hardworking father wants to sell their home to a business man who desires to take down all of Fox street, one house at a time. Fox Street is a story that unravels a great mystery of family, confirms young crushes, and reinforces the magic of hope. Springstubb’s language will speak to an 8 to 12 year-old reader while sharing a taste of beautiful metaphors and imagery describing family, friendships, and growing up. While the book does not have an abundance of action similar to that of the survival tactics in The Hunger Games, Springstubb’s plot development builds on age-relatable issues that touch on surviving life’s dilemmas day-to-day and the thought processes behind important actions and decisions. A great find for a longer chapter book reader who has the patience to let a story unfold like life’s small epiphanies!
Contemporary Realism, 218 pages
Fox Street is a block full of families, best friends, and a dead-end that really is the beginning of a ravine and a Green Kingdom, overflowing with secrets and nature. For Mo Wren, Fox street is the best place on earth, even during the worst draught of her lifetime and without her mother whose memory still lives on in Mo’s surroundings. With her mother gone, Mo becomes responsible for many of her family’s needs and is shocked to hear that her hardworking father wants to sell their home to a business man who desires to take down all of Fox street, one house at a time. Fox Street is a story that unravels a great mystery of family, confirms young crushes, and reinforces the magic of hope. Springstubb’s language will speak to an 8 to 12 year-old reader while sharing a taste of beautiful metaphors and imagery describing family, friendships, and growing up. While the book does not have an abundance of action similar to that of the survival tactics in The Hunger Games, Springstubb’s plot development builds on age-relatable issues that touch on surviving life’s dilemmas day-to-day and the thought processes behind important actions and decisions. A great find for a longer chapter book reader who has the patience to let a story unfold like life’s small epiphanies!
August 4, 2013
The cover made me think of "Clementine" and maybe a touch of "B is for Betsy" but it is more than that. The story begins in a way that makes the story seem old-fashioned, 11-year old Mo Wren loves her neighbourhood to bits, even the crusty neighbour next door, and is fiercely loyal to it. When her best friend arrives for her annual summer visit with an across-the-street neighbour Mo is dismayed to find that her best friend is starting to see cracks in the beauty of Fox Street. That is the part of the story that makes it feel like something written 35 years ago but Mo is living in a modern world.
Although the cover makes it seem like an early chapter book the subject is more middle-grade and beyond. Mo's mother is dead, her neighbour across the street is fighting a fierce battle with diabetes and then there is the discussion of children born before marriage and families breaking up because of it. Oh, and just a few doors down from their street (on the corner of Fox Street) there is a bar where men drive off after drinking too much and weave their way down the street.
The contrast between comforts and stresses make Mo's life seem very real. It's not possible to escape to the comforts of her life without being aware of her worries but that's what makes Mo an appealing friend. Looking forward to her next book.
Although the cover makes it seem like an early chapter book the subject is more middle-grade and beyond. Mo's mother is dead, her neighbour across the street is fighting a fierce battle with diabetes and then there is the discussion of children born before marriage and families breaking up because of it. Oh, and just a few doors down from their street (on the corner of Fox Street) there is a bar where men drive off after drinking too much and weave their way down the street.
The contrast between comforts and stresses make Mo's life seem very real. It's not possible to escape to the comforts of her life without being aware of her worries but that's what makes Mo an appealing friend. Looking forward to her next book.
July 25, 2011
Things I Liked:
This was a thoughtful little book about one girl trying to deal with change and challenges in life. It's got a sweet main character, who is coming to terms with some hard things. I loved how it seemed to capture just perfectly the feelings of a girl who finds things are changing around her and she doesn't like that. I remember feeling the same way, about people and places and things. It definitely has charm and can help tweens who might be facing similar struggles to deal with them.
Things I Didn't Like:
I am pretty sure this is a book that will appeal to adults much more than to kids. Not a lot happens in the book. It just seems to be about feelings and not about action. I'm pretty sure adults can sell it to the right kids, but the adults will enjoy it much more for its nostalgia than kids will (I know I did). I wasn't quite as in love with this book as I was with others that have similar feelings (see below). I'm not entirely sure why, either. Still, I think some sensitive kids will find a place for it in their hearts.
Full review at One Librarian's Book Reviews.
This was a thoughtful little book about one girl trying to deal with change and challenges in life. It's got a sweet main character, who is coming to terms with some hard things. I loved how it seemed to capture just perfectly the feelings of a girl who finds things are changing around her and she doesn't like that. I remember feeling the same way, about people and places and things. It definitely has charm and can help tweens who might be facing similar struggles to deal with them.
Things I Didn't Like:
I am pretty sure this is a book that will appeal to adults much more than to kids. Not a lot happens in the book. It just seems to be about feelings and not about action. I'm pretty sure adults can sell it to the right kids, but the adults will enjoy it much more for its nostalgia than kids will (I know I did). I wasn't quite as in love with this book as I was with others that have similar feelings (see below). I'm not entirely sure why, either. Still, I think some sensitive kids will find a place for it in their hearts.
Full review at One Librarian's Book Reviews.
August 2, 2016
Mo Wren was born on the kitchen table in her home on Fox Street. Ten years later Fox Street is still her world. She can't imagine living anywhere else.
With five houses on either side, Fox Street is bordered on one end by Paradise Avenue and on the other by a wooded ravine called the Green Kingdom. The Green Kingdom is one of the best things about Fox Street. Then there are the neighbors. There's a piano player, a teacher, the best burrito makers in the city, a woman who works in a funeral home, and a man who fixes things, just to name a few. Everything you need is right there on Fox Street.
To Mo's dismay, things are changing on Fox Street. Developers are trying to buy up the houses on their little street and her dad is considering taking their offer. He dreams of owning a family bar where people can hang out and get a quick meal from the grill. Mo wants that for him, but she can't imagine that he'd sell their home to make it happen.
Other things are changing, too. Mo's best friend Mercedes visits her grandmother every summer, but this is her last summer. Her grandmother is sick and her daughter and Mercedes' new stepfather want her to move to Cincinnati and live with them.
This book is a winner. Mo Wren and Fox Street are sure to find a place is your heart.
With five houses on either side, Fox Street is bordered on one end by Paradise Avenue and on the other by a wooded ravine called the Green Kingdom. The Green Kingdom is one of the best things about Fox Street. Then there are the neighbors. There's a piano player, a teacher, the best burrito makers in the city, a woman who works in a funeral home, and a man who fixes things, just to name a few. Everything you need is right there on Fox Street.
To Mo's dismay, things are changing on Fox Street. Developers are trying to buy up the houses on their little street and her dad is considering taking their offer. He dreams of owning a family bar where people can hang out and get a quick meal from the grill. Mo wants that for him, but she can't imagine that he'd sell their home to make it happen.
Other things are changing, too. Mo's best friend Mercedes visits her grandmother every summer, but this is her last summer. Her grandmother is sick and her daughter and Mercedes' new stepfather want her to move to Cincinnati and live with them.
This book is a winner. Mo Wren and Fox Street are sure to find a place is your heart.
September 4, 2014
A cute middle-grade book about a 10 year old girl facing changes in her family, neighborhood and in her longtime friendships. Written by an Ohio author, the story is set in an older neighborhood in Cleveland, where Maureen "Mo" helps her single dad raise her and her younger sister, and she hopes to one day see an actual fox on her street (there's a little bit of magic realism at play in the fox stuff, which was really neat). The houses are rundown, but the neighbors all know each other and support one another. Well, except for cranky Mrs. "Starchbutt," who doesn't want anyone touching her roses or walking on her lawn. When residents start getting letters from a developer offering to buy up houses, it causes tensions to rise: if people start moving away, what will happen to their neighborhood? Will Mo's Dad finally make good on his dream to quit his blue collar job and open a restaurant? Mo's best friend spends summers living just across the street with her grandmother, but is soon going to move permanently out of town, and Mo is worried about this. And she has to put up with her little sister, who runs wild and is a constant thorn in Mo's side. A sweet story of family, the born-with-them kind and the chosen kind. Nominated for the Buckeye Children's Book Award.
November 5, 2016
Great quick read! Reminds me of Birdsall's Penderwicks' series - including the deceased mother, the brainy 3rd person POV main character, the accident-prone little sister, the quiet neighborhood with friendly neighbors, the street with a patch of woods at the end, and even a friend named Mercedes - but that said, while Birdsall's characters exist in a idealistic slightly-removed-from-reality world, Springstubb's live in a very real and slowly declining Cleveland neighborhood. What makes things interesting is that Mo, the main character, seems to think that her neighborhood is a perfect little utopia, like the Penderwicks' Gardam street, but the reader sees pretty quickly that that's not the case.
On a somewhat unrelated note, thank you so much, Tricia Springstubb, for leaving the details of what happens right after the story's end to the reader's imagination. I was worried it was going to turn into a rather boring dragged-out ending for most of the book.
One very, very, very small issue I had with this story was the map in the beginning. Why are none of the houses labeled??? By the time I figured out which was Mo's, I was already picturing her living on the opposite side of the street, and no matter how hard I told my brain to, I couldn't change that.
On a somewhat unrelated note, thank you so much, Tricia Springstubb, for leaving the details of what happens right after the story's end to the reader's imagination. I was worried it was going to turn into a rather boring dragged-out ending for most of the book.
One very, very, very small issue I had with this story was the map in the beginning. Why are none of the houses labeled??? By the time I figured out which was Mo's, I was already picturing her living on the opposite side of the street, and no matter how hard I told my brain to, I couldn't change that.
March 6, 2011
Author Tricia Springstubb channels the deep sense of community thriving in Cleveland's many pocket neighborhoods to create a timeless childhood story. Protagonist Maureen (Mo) Wren can't wait to spend the lazy, hot days of summer playing on the streets and trees of her beloved Fox Street with her best friend and neighbor's granddaughter Mercedes. But, when Mercedes arrives for her yearly visit she's a foot taller, even more gorgeous, and dressed in designer clothes thanks to her new wealthy step-father. While Mo's still adjusting to her new friend and her new interests, more change threatens with a mysterious letter for her father, long hidden secrets surfacing between neighbors, and the boy down the street suddenly looking more interesting. Mo feels a bit like Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird, rediscovering the neighbors who've been like family, and slowly uncovering the mystery of the odd character across the street. Springstubb creates an intoxicating sense of place and atmosphere that evokes nostalgic longing from adults, but may be a little slow and subtle for most young readers. This is a great pick for Ramona or Harriet the Spy fans though.
January 27, 2012
Mo has always live on Fox Street and thinks it's a perfect place to dwell, a cozy little dead-end road with a perfect mix of neighbors and a wooded ravine at its end. She has her hard-working dad, her little sister, and a best friend to spend every summer with while Mercedes stays at her grandma. So when major changes start rearing their heads her tenth summer, it seems like perfection is falling apart. Mo won't accept the changes passively, though, and immediately starts working to remind everyone why things are fine the way they are. A very nicely told story of character and place.
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The daisies and buttercups nodded in the breeze, like skinny-necked old ladies listening to dance music.
What if necessary evil had an opposite? This is what it would be. This unnecessary good.
For the first time in days, Mo smiled.
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Being a thinker was a various thing. Sometimes you felt like a turtle, with a nice, private built-in place to shelter. Other times it was like having a bucket stuck on your head, making the world clang and echo and never stop.
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The daisies and buttercups nodded in the breeze, like skinny-necked old ladies listening to dance music.
What if necessary evil had an opposite? This is what it would be. This unnecessary good.
For the first time in days, Mo smiled.
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Being a thinker was a various thing. Sometimes you felt like a turtle, with a nice, private built-in place to shelter. Other times it was like having a bucket stuck on your head, making the world clang and echo and never stop.
June 6, 2016
Normally, I love this kind of book- quiet-ish mid-grades with quirky characters and a tangible setting with an air of mystery about things from the past. While this was well-written, I'm surprised that I just didn't fall in love with it (all of my goodreads friends loved it, except for Elizabeth Bird- I'll be curious to see what she says about it if she does a review of it at some point.) For a childrens book, I felt like it just wasn't straight-forward enough at times, too oblique maybe, and then too obvious at others. And I think there was just too much in it overall- too much meaningful imagery and symbolism, too much melodrama, and too much introspection on the part of the main character- which made me question the book's kid-friendliness overall. Too much literariness, if that makes any sense. I kind of like that stuff to sneak up on me, to be the cherry on top of a great story, but here it felt like the main entree.
September 9, 2010
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 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.
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 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.
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