Paula Fox Summary

Best known for her "uncompromising integrity," according to Horn Book's Alice Bach, American writer Paula Fox has crafted distinguished careers in both children's books and adult fiction. Among the fo... Read more

Paula Fox has earned a deserved reputation as one of America's most outstanding writers for children. Critics and reviewers have praised her capacity to capture the intense emotions and perceptions of... Read more

In the following review, Loprete offers a negative assessment of Poor George. George Mecklin, the hero (or anti-hero, if you prefer) of this slim and over-priced first novel [Poor George], is a teache... Read more

In the following essay, Fox reflects on the ability of books to fuel the imagination, especially of children. Literature is the province of imagination, and stories, in whatever guise, are meditations... Read more

In the following essay, Kuznets examines the use of the pastoral fantasy in children's literature—particularly Fox's How Many Miles to Babylon?—as a rite of passage for you... Read more

In the following review, Tyler calls One-Eyed Cat a "book of real value" because of its honest portrayal of the parent-child dynamic. In Paula Fox's 20-odd years of writing for ch... Read more

In the following review, Simon finds in A Servant's Tale a deftly handled examination of the individual power and purpose of the marginalized under-classes. Servants know their masters' ... Read more

In the following essay, Moss includes How Many Miles to Babylon? in a discussion of the effectiveness of self-referential qualities in children's fiction. "It's because she wants... Read more

In the following review, Sheriff praises Fox's handling of her characters' ambiguous feelings for each other in The Moonlight Man. [In The Moonlight Man], twelve years after her parents&... Read more

In the following review, the anonymous critic finds The Little Swineherd and Other Tales "luminous" and comic but also appropriately sober. To open a children's book by Paula Fox ... Read more

In the following review, Blubaugh admires Fox's portrayal of village life and of complicated emotional themes in Lily and the Lost Boy. [In Lily and the Lost Boy], Lily, 12, and her 14 year old... Read more

In the following review, Smith assesses Monkey Island as an honest portrayal of homelessness, particularly the rarely dealt with issue of homelessness as it affects members of the middle class. One au... Read more

In the following review, the anonymous critic admires the traditional fairy tale tone and themes of Amzat and His Brothers: Three Italian Tales Remembered by Floriano Vecchi. Explaining in her preface... Read more

In the following review, the anonymous critic praises The Stone-Faced Boy but recommends it for mature readers. … Gus, the hero of The Stone-Faced Boy, is something of a lone wolf, although he ... Read more

In the following essay, Fox explores the ability of language and stories, at their best, to concretize the ephemeral and ambiguous nature of universal experience and what Fox considers the unfortunate... Read more

In the following review, Morrow praises The Eagle Kite for its honest portrayal of both deeply personal and socially charged contemporary family issues. [In The Eagle Kite], Liam, a high school freshm... Read more

In the following review, the anonymous critic finds The Eagle Kite a "haunting exploration of guilt." Although The Eagle Kite is probably the shortest and easiest of the Honor Books to r... Read more

In the following review, Riley compares Fox to contemporary writers such as Joan Didion and Grace Paley but asserts that Fox is ultimately worthy of praise for her own literary achievements, notably b... Read more

In the following review, Milton finds The Widow's Children to be a brilliant and accurate portrayal of the suffocating nature of contemporary life. Years ago, I heard Elizabeth Bowen give a lec... Read more

In the following essay, Townsend provides an overview of Fox's works for children. Of the new writers for children who emerged in the United States in the later 1960s, Paula Fox was quickly see... Read more