PAX by Sara Pennypacker

I think I've purchased every book written and/or illustrated by Jon Klassen. Or if not, almost all of them. Of course, this purchasing all started with I Want My Hat Back (Candlewick, 2011). 

I guess if I tried to describe Klassen books, I would begin by saying that with each, a certain promise is attached.  A promise of something magical. A promise of a story that is unlike any other. A promise that is always kept. Unfailingly.

Pax (Harper Children's, 2016), also makes -- and delivers -- this promise. 

Sara Pennypacker (Clementine series, Summer of the Gypsy Moths, Meet the Dullards) is the author of Pax, and Klassen illustrates it. This pairing works: Pennypacker's storyline is gloriously unpredictable, and Klassen's depictions make it all believable. 

Peter's mother has died, and his father is going off to war. So, Peter is being sent to live miles away with his grandfather. And with this change, Peter must also give up Pax, his beloved pet fox whom he has had since he was a kit. The separation between boy and his pet sets off an immediate need to be reunited. The story switches from Peter's point of view to Pax's, and Klassen's chapter markers tell us so: silhouettes of Peter and Pax. In search of one another, Peter and Pax each encounter mysterious characters, and moments of heart-stopping adventure. As the journey progresses, readers are taken into Peter's heart and memory with a masterful narrative that makes readers long for Pax right along with Peter, and vice versa. Pennypacker builds the story page by page, using suspense and weaving in  themes of family and belonging. Is home a place? Can home be found in those you love?

This is not a sweet boy-finds-cuddly pet story. Pax will evoke powerful emotions. This story will not be what you expect. 

Klassen's illustrations are placed at perfect spots in the book, bringing to life moments in the plot and setting. But it is the cover of the book that will draw readers in and set the tone: Pax looking over fields, surrounded by trees, searching for Peter. When you see the cover, you know it is Klassen. This is comforting. 

Though I purchased a final copy of Pax for my home library, I initially read the ARC, which came packaged beautifully in a diorama kit. Before I even read the book, I built the diorama, slowly and carefully (because I didn't want to tear anything) - from easy-to-follow instructions: 

Building the diorama had an effect on me: prior to reading Pax's story, I had already been brought into his world. And I had crafted it carefully, with a kind of solemnity, knowing the story would be memorable, and enriching. 

I wasn't wrong. The promise was indeed made and kept.