Review of "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker,
Illustrated by Jon KIassen, 2016
276 pp.
978-0-06-237701 http://search.illinoisheartland.org/search/searchresults.aspx?ctx=451.1033.0.0.3&type=Default&term=Pax&by=KW&sort=RELEVANCE&limit=TOM=*&query=&page=0&searchid=1
Children's Literature
The simply endearing quality of Klassen's black and white illustration of a bright-eyed fox enchants the reader to wonder what this animal is waiting for on the side of the road. The drawing is the first alluring page of Pennypacker's children's book about a boy and his fox, his father's war and his own struggle to find home again.
It is a children's classic in the best sense of the word, where we root for the improbable, the bond between a boy feelings pangs of maturity and his pet fox. It crackles with tough and sweet dialogue between Peter and his cast of animal and people characters, Peter's inner dialogue about losing his mother, or living with his grandfather while his father goes to war. Peter's odyssey of 300 miles to restore his relationship with his fox becomes the structure of the story, as Pennypacker reveals Peter's character through the people he meets along the road. Animals are uplifted to an importance that children will feel deeply and we watch as the fox's survival becomes a grand scale of life or death to Peter. Material things, to a child running away from home, urge us to think about what we might grab as dearest to our safety and comfort. Peter's ball and glove become a sub-plot in his encounters along the difficult trek to find his Pax. The illustrations, though sparely drawn, transport the reader to the forest, the cabin, the tents of war.
The book holds many surprises, in its lessons from adults as well, like Vola, an injured loner who lives in a homey cabin and saves Peter from hunger and despair. She is abrupt, no-nonsense and industrious. She teaches Peter how to deal with physical pain and works him as her apprentice. He reveals to her his own uncontrollable anger at times, so like his father. But he begs her for a shortcut, some wisdom, some advice, so he doesn't have to figure everything out the hard way.
The author lets us see the real behavior of a fox family, what they eat, how they hunt, their fear of man. Pax befriends them on his own journey to find his destiny with Peter. The timeless lessons are here on many levels, delivered in the vivid, color-washed prose as enchanting to adult readers as children.
-Jeanine Freeman Benanti, MA, MLIS
