Pax, by Sarah Pennypacker

There is a quote I see attributed to C.S. Lewis, which says: “A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.” Though I don’t know the exact source of this wisdom, I still really endorse the sentiment. Pax is a great example of a book that is suitable for children (ages 8+) that will also really engage, entertain and provoke thought in adults.

I just happened to be looking through the library shelves over summer and pulled out Pax. Seeing the cover illustration and recognizing Jon Klassen’s distinctive style I was very keen to borrow this book. (If they could get a huge name like Jon Klassen to do the artwork, surely this is a good book.) I showed the 8-year-old and he was a bit ambivalent. So when it came time to borrow and we were way over our library limit I ruefully left it behind.

Only a few days later I saw someone raving about it online, so I reserved it straight away.

I really liked it. This fast-paced story is told from the perspective of two main characters: Peter, a boy living in a war-stricken country, and his fox, Pax. Peter and Pax are separated but both recognise their need for each other and try to get back to each other. They each face seemingly insurmountable obstacles and have to show determination and bravery to achieve their goals.

The story is a little heavy for very young or immature readers. The human characters are dealing with issues of death, loss, lonliness, effects of war, and strained parent-child relationships. The fox characters are equally effected by the war and the death and other problems it brings to their kind.

What I really liked about it was the clever way the Pax is portrayed. In so many children’s books animals are anthropomorphic, they often take on human traits such as speaking, or they relate to situations in a human way. In this book Sarah Pennypacker has done a wonderful job of helping us understand what Pax feels, experiences and thinks, without him ever saying a word. He is very much a fox, not a human character in fox form.

While Jude almost never takes my book recommendations (he still hasn’t even tried Harry Potter), he was interested in this one. I think it was the Jon Klassen cover. He finished it this morning and really loved it.