ECCENTRIC ANIMALS
Popcorn, the Hippoporhino. The Kangaroo with a Hole in Her Pocket. Arabella, the Pink and Gold-spotted Elephant. All by Philippe and Rejane Fix. Jonathan Cape. Each 29 pp. $5.10. Philippe Fix, whose “Beebo” stories ■have proved very popular with children, has teamed up with Rejane Fix to produce these three books about the adventures of a trio of animal-loving children: Alexander, Barnaby and Emma. Much of the “Beebo” formula remains: the jaunty illustrations by Philippe Fix, the delight in contraptions and odds-and-ends, and the anti-philistine bias. But a change of emphasis has accompanied the advent of a female co-author (Rejane Fix) and a female protagonist (Emma). These stories are softer and more sentimental than the “Beebo” books. The crucial difference lies in the fact that the inventive Beebo has been replaced at the centre of the action by a set of lovably eccentric — but essentially passive — animals. 1 hope I am not being sexist in surmising that this new formula will win the Fixes a new following amongst little girls (up to the age of about nine) but perhaps disappoint some little (and not so little) boys. — RICHARD CORBALLIS.
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Press, 26 November 1977, Page 17
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191ECCENTRIC ANIMALS Press, 26 November 1977, Page 17
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