“Based on a Rocky Mountain legend, Stone Fox tells the story of Little Willy, who lives with his grandfather in Wyoming. When Grandfather falls ill, he is no longer able to work the farm, which is in danger of foreclosure. Little Willy is determined to win the National Dogsled Race—the prize money would save the farm and his grandfather. But he isn’t the only one who desperately wants to win. Willy and his brave dog Searchlight must face off against experienced racers, including a Native American man named Stone Fox, who has never lost a race.”
This is such a wholesome cast of characters. They were my favorite part of the book. We are really immersed into the shoes of Little Willy and can view the other characters how he does. This book might only be 83 pages, but you get such a good feel for what kind of people and animals the characters are.
Believe it or not, the atmosphere didn’t play a huge part in the story to me, but I do think it is very important in showing how the race will be raced as this is the hometown of Little Willie and his dog Searchlight. The atmosphere is important to the story, but didn’t leave a big impact on me. This would be a good winter read though.
The writing is short, blunt to the point, which is typically my kind of book. This book is short and fast paced. The writing was cinematic for me and I could definitely see a movie playing out in my head. However, at the end of the book I was left wanting more.
This is a story of sacrifice. Sometimes in life you have to give it your all. It is hard and it hurts. I feel so bad for little Willy, for everything that he had to go through in this book. That’s sadly how life is for some people. I do think this is an important story to teach sometimes to gain something, to get something back: You have to lose something in return. I did read this book as a child, and it is viewed as a classic in my mind. It reads very much like the works of Steinbeck or Hemingway as it’s so classically American. You are going to have to suspend your disbelief for some of this, but the author does seem to be self-aware about that as I said the ending was very sudden and I can’t believe it wasn’t built upon more. This is a good book and I would maybe recommend it.
3 out of 5 stars.
Izzy Reads 