Talk:The Fox and the Hound (novel)/GA1

GA Review
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This is a fine article and easily GA except for a few minor glitches such as this --> in the Plot summary section: "It opens Copper..." and this --> in the Publication section: "...the company contracted to published the novel...". I noted other little glitches here and there. In the Development section, could we reword this --> "...Mannix read the story in, in..." to avoid the awkward "in, in"? I'm wondering a bit about the unfamiliar critics and publications in the Reception section. Could we find a review or two from distinguished publications known to a broad demographic such as The New York Times or Library Journal to supplement the references entered here? On the whole it looks great and GA will be no problem once it's touched up a bit. Best! Kathyrncelestewright (talk)


 * I think I've fixed the grammar issues found (and a few others). For the reviews, they are basically all that remains at this point that I could find for a novel of this age. I don't know if the NY Times just wasn't doing novel reviews back then, didn't review this one, or if its just been lost to time. I suspect it is the last one, or would require more extensive searching than I can do right now (i.e. physically going and finding and manually scanning microfiche of every issue from September 1967-1968 to see). Even getting the two reviews I did find required me contacting the local libraries from where those papers are published to get copies from microfiche emailed to me. The only one I was not able to retrieve was from the Anniston Star, because they wanted me to come by in person *doh* There are some potential sources from old ALA, but attempts to retrieve them have been fruitless. A&M Library could not find any copy through its connections so I'm not sure if Google Books is giving false hits, or if they are just rare now. I do have one last request out, but I'm not feeling hopeful due to the lack of response (usually if its going to be found, its found pretty quick). I can and do intend to keep searching, but for now I'd say the sum of readily available sources has been exhausted. I know it was a "bestseller" when released, but I couldn't retrieve any decent source for that either. Alas, despite that and its being the basis of the Disney movie, this novel is out of print and has been for a long time. So no contemporary reviews are available. -- AnmaFinotera  (talk · contribs) 02:28, 7 July 2009 (UTC)

FINAL: Kudos for putting so much effort into researching reviews and critiques. Should you find more please include them! This is a well-written article, adheres to GA criteria unflinchingly, and covers all the bases nicely. I've done some minor editing but revert if you choose. Most of my edits were itsy-bitsy glitches here and there. I'm dispensing with the WP checklist as the article more than meets the GA criteria. PASS with hearty congratulations! (Now I want to find and read the book! Thank you!) Best, Kathyrncelestewright (talk) 14:00, 7 July 2009 (UTC) 

This GA review was conducted by an account subsequently discovered to be operated by a user that made use of multiple accounts. Importantly, there is nothing that supports a concern passing their own GAs or passing 'sub-GA' articles authored by others occurred. In the interest of transparency and rigor, discussion agreed reviews against the underlying articles be checked. This is a nice article, on a poignant story. I made small copyediting changes to enhance the clarity and impact of the writing (if I'm honest (to myself) 'fiddled with it' might be a more accurate description). The prose is certainly GA standard, before and after any changes I made. Layout, adherence to core content policies, image use, and scope are likewise fine. My assessment is the review shows no sign it was conducted with lack of due care or was superficial.

Future development: It would be good to have information on the book's themes. These might be revenge, or decay of increasing urban-rural creep plus its effect on the human condition. Naturally, sources exploring these, whatever the themes might be, would be needed to do so. However, I'm satisfied contributors have exhausted the sources that've so far come to light.

My own online search didn't turn up anything much. There was a book by Barbara Marriott: Oro Valley, which states Copper was a favorite hunting dog of 'Bee Dee Adkins', an Oro Valley-based friend and hunting partner of Mannix, and impressed Mannix such that he inspired the Copper character. I don't know if it's worth using what amounts to a small photo caption as source material though. Overview: I agree with the review's pass of the article and with its comments. The review and GA status should stand. –Whitehorse1 20:35, 23 November 2009 (UTC)