Mr. Fooster Traveling on a Whim

Rating All Ages Genre fiction Publisher Doubleday/Flying Dolphin Press External Links Official Mr. Fooster Website

Mr. Fooster Traveling on a Whim is a curious little story that teeters on the boundaries of a child’s story and an adult book with deeper meaning. Mr. Fooster decides to head out on a journey with no particular place to go. And isn’t that when you stumble across people and places you least expect? Mr. Fooster is traveling by himself with an old crinkled letter and a bottle of bubble soap to accompany him. Odd occurrences begin to happen as Mr. Fooster crosses a katydid who smiles at him, and as he blows a bubble from a red, plastic wand, the bubble transforms into an old DeSoto sedan, which he uses to drive home in time for bed.

He rests up in time for his journey the next day heading west with the thought of swimming to Cambodia. Along the way he ponders issues such as why you never see baby pigeons? Why are ducks so fuel-efficient? But it isn’t until he comes head to head with an enormous bug whose mission is to munch his path around the world that his journey takes a new turn. Mr. Fooster’s bubble soap proves to be useful yet again so he carries on his excursion.

Mr. Fooster undergoes a wildly new transformation that puts a halt on his meanderings. The story continues by following Mr. Fooster’s new place in the world and how he copes with it. Everything in his path was useful for the end of his voyage.

The evident simplicity of the text and the book layout would perhaps steer adults away from the book (it is 101 pages, half text, half pictures). However, it is the way you choose to read the text that will steer you toward how you’ll enjoy it. As an adult, if you take the text at face value, you will probably think the story is silly, ridiculous and irrelevant. A child may find Mr. Fooster’s ponderings intriguing and inspiring, and would enjoy the plot, which includes giant bugs and a labyrinth. On the other hand, if you view the story from a more perceptive reader-response outlook, you can “read against the grain” to find the author’s potential meaning, or some other meaning for yourself. I found reading against the grain (reading between the lines, or outside of the box) proved to be delightfully more intriguing than taking the text at face value.

It’s an extremely quick read that left me smiling. I mean, come on! The name alone sounds so silly and fun, who wouldn’t be fascinated by such a title? There is a clever equilibrium between shear simplicity and profound meaning that is sure to provoke emotion from you.