A lost book found

This was a book I read in about 5th grade, and I really liked it. It was one of the books that I mentally added to a list of books to look for in used book stores when I got older. I found a few of them, but never this one. Along came the internet, and although I hunted for it, I found several different books by this or a similar enough title that I couldn't be sure if it was the right one or not. I didn't remember the author's name, and none of the online used booksellers had plot descriptions so that I could figure out if it was the right book.

But somehow Brer figured out which was the right book, so I tracked it down and ordered it, and it just came in today. The book I checked out of our junior high library didn't have a dust jacket, so this is the first time I've seen a cover illustration. I don't remember anything about a fox, but then it's been more than 30 years since I read it.

Nice. Maybe I'll do a review after I've read it again.