Stone Fox

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade adventure
• Originally Published: 1980
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 610L; grades 2-6
• Structure/Length: 10 chapters; approx. 96 pages; approx. 58 minutes on audio
• Protagonist/Central Conflict: Little Willy lives on a farm in Wyoming with his grandfather and dog, Searchlight. When his grandfather refuses to get out of bed, Willy and Searchlight work to save him by plowing the fields and harvesting potatoes. When Willy learns that his grandfather owes $500 in taxes, he and Searchlight set off to win a dog sled race with a $500 prize to save the farm.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Animal death; mental illness

John Reynolds Gardiner, Author

• Bio: 1944-2006; born in Los Angeles, California; known as a rebellious boy whose teachers believed he would never get anywhere in life; earned master’s degree from University of California, Los Angeles; worked as an engineer; ran Num Num Novelties, a novelty store; lived in West Germany, El Salvador, Mexico, Italy, Ireland, and Idaho; his first book, Stone Fox, has sold over four million copies and was adapted into a feature film
• Other Works: Top Secret (1984); General Butterfingers (1986); How to Live a Life That’s Not Boring (2004)
• Awards:  New York Times Outstanding Book (1980); Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award (Minnesota, 1980); Utah Beehive Award (1985)