A recurrent theme in literature for young people is that of a child developing mature, unselfish attitudes and a willingness to risk danger for the welfare of others. In each of the stories of Children of the Fox, the main character learns that leaving home and having a great adventure sometimes involves hardship and sacrifice. But these characters also discover an inner strength that helps them to endure the hardship and makes them heroic. Because they are ordinary young people who rise to meet extraordinary circumstances, these characters reveal the great potential within each human being.

Aster, the sheltered fourteen-year-old Athenian girl who narrates Crossing to Salamis, longs for freedom from the impoverished and secluded life she lives with her mother, brother, governess, and their slave-girl. Because her brother Nikias was still too young to inherit the family estate when her father was killed...