David Grant and his beloved vulpine companion Foxy return in this second volume, following upon the initial Foxy. Unlike his earlier book, which was a novel, in My Friend Foxy John Montgomery presents five short stories about boy and fox, chronicling the many adventures (and misadventures) they have in and around the small Sussex village of Woodmere. In Foxy and Mrs. Vicar, an unfortunate incident involving a snowball thrown at the Vicar's wife results in that august lady taking a dislike to David and his fox. When a hedge-sparrow's next is destroyed near the vicarage, Foxy is blamed, until David's investigation proves that his companion is innocent. Foxy Goes to School sees the lovable fox bringing about a much-needed reconciliation between David and the strict new village teacher, Miss Thring. In Foxy to the Rescue, David is led to his missing friend, Charlie Elliott, by his companion's superior sense of smell, thereby saving the boy's life. Foxy and the Gipsy follows David and Foxy as they befriend Joe Smith, the titular gipsy, or Romany, with surprising results when a local land-owner shoots at Foxy. Finally, in Foxy in Colour, a London photographer arrives in Woodmere, and takes some beautiful pictures of Foxy. But when David learns that the photographs are intended for a fox-hunting calendar, he is horrified, and determined to find a way to prevent Foxy's image from being used to promote an activity he abhors...

Originally published in 1961, two years after Montgomery's initial story about David and Foxy, My Friend Foxy is an engaging collection of tales. It is not as emotionally involving as its predecessor, owing perhaps both to its format, which prevents narrative tension from building for too long, and to the fact that it lacks the final passages in which David must confront the cruelty of the adult world, and face the possibility of losing his beloved companion. That said, it does present a series of entertaining vignettes, many of them quite humorous - Mrs. Vicar rising out of the pond, covered in slime; the children convulsing in laughter when they think that Miss Thring has made a joke about her own extra-large feet - while also containing a number of interesting themes. I was struck by the frank discussion of Catholics vs. Protestants, between Mr. Hedger and David, after David imagines that Mrs. Vicar (Mrs. Preston, really) is only angry at him because she is a "silly old Protestant" who doesn't like Catholics. While the story clearly demonstrates that she has jumped to the wrong conclusions, about both boy and fox, it also encourages the reader to see that imagining that there is a religious motivation to the conflict would be both unjust and dangerous. Mr. Hedger's advice to David, not to imagine himself persecuted, simply because the person with whom he is in conflict is of a different faith, and not to feel superior either, is as valuable today, as when Montgomery first penned it. In the end, David is able to demonstrate Foxy's innocence, and Mrs. Vicar is willing to admit she has been wrong. I was also struck by the sympathetic portrait of Joe Smith in Foxy and the Gipsy, which contains a number of stereotypes about the Romany, but also depicts its eponymous gipsy as a tall-tale teller who, whilst perhaps not 100% truthful in his reminisces, nevertheless has both compassion and courage. This is contrasted sharply with the wealthy landowner in the green suit, who has no remorse for shooting Foxy (thankfully not fatally!), and thinks to move Joe Smith along with little ceremony, simply because he is wealthy and has a gun. He soon learns his mistake, and the reader is encouraged to root for Joe, and to approve of his course of action when threatened.

All in all, My Friend Foxy was an engaging read, and a worthwhile follow-up to the initial Foxy. I would recommend it to anyone who has read the first volume dedicated to David and Foxy, and to those with an interest in the depiction of foxes in children's literature. ( )