Review: TOUGH BORIS by Mem Fox

Fox, Mem. 1994. Tough Boris. Ill. by Kathryn Brown. Orlando: Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 0152896120.

PLOT SUMMARY
The text of Mem Fox’s Tough Boris begins by describing a stereotypically scruffy, scary pirate. As the story continues, Fox describes the pirate’s sorrow over the loss of his beloved pet parrot. The illustrations by Kathryn Brown tells the additional story of a young boy with a violin who sneaks aboard the pirate ship, is caught, and eventually returned to his home.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Fox and Brown do a marvelous job of simultaneously telling two stories within this one book. Although the text and illustrations would still be entertaining if viewed separately, the combination makes for a more interesting tale. The text is kept simple and repetitious (“He was tough. All pirates are tough… He was scruffy. All pirates are scruffy”). The sparse text makes the books poignant ending all the more touching. The concise text allows the reader to spend time examining the expressive watercolor illustrations of vicious pirates and beautiful shores.

REVIEW EXCERPTS
School Library Journal: “Tough Boris is a treasure. This easy-to-read picture book features a repetitive, engaging text; a very popular subject; and an interesting subplot played out in the colorful illustrations.”

Booklist: “This picture book is full of surprises, both in the simple text and in the dramatic underlying story the pictures tell… Unfortunately, the design is confusing; the boy appears on the imprint page but then remains hidden until the middle of the book; some kids may be puzzled about where he comes from. However, for those who look carefully, the wordless story is a poignant counterpoint to the swashbuckling adventure scenes.”

CONNECTIONS
Tough Boris is an excellent choice to read aloud in both group and individual settings. When reading this to my two-year-old nephew, I found that he was particularly interested in tracking the boy’s progress throughout the book. You can hear the author read Tough Boris on her website at http://www.memfox.com/mem-reads-aloud.