Pax

Move over Old Yeller.  Step aside Where the Red Fern Grows. There's a new tween weeper on the bookshelves.  Yong Peter rescues Pax from certain death when the rest of the kit's family is killed.  Pax and Peter become inseparable, as children and pets often do, but war breaks out and Peter's father must fight.  The boy is sent to live with his grandfather who cannot care for both Peter and Pax , and so the fox is released into the wilderness.  What follows is a painful search for lost friendship.

While this book is intended for the tween set - 8-12 year-olds - parents with especially sensitive children might want to read it first. This beautifully crafted tale does not lighten the burdens carried with loss, death and dying.  Both Pax and Peter learn and grow as the story progresses, leaving the reader sad, and exhausted, but knowing that both will be OK.

Earth Day gives us all the opportunity to reflect on our responsibility the Mother Nature and the future to which we are all currently contributing. Pax will help open that discussion with serious, younger readers, and will certainly strike important chords with responsible adults.

Not all is grim within these pages, however.  The takeaways....enduring friendship, loyalty, thoughtfulness, and above all, the pride that accompanies determination.  This is soulful book, for sure - a rich soulful story. 

Thanks for stopping by.