Inseparable

Upon finishing a book impacting you profoundly, more times than not, you feel an urgent need to talk with someone else who has read the book.  At the very least you have to express your feelings as soon as possible.  Seventeen days ago I finished the new novel Pax (Balzar + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, February 2, 2016) written by Sara Pennypacker with cover and interior illustrations by Caldecott Medalist, Jon Klassen.  Overcome with the effects of this book, I sent out this tweet.

I just finished Pax by @sarapennypacker @burstofbeaden At the moment I have no words...except for wow...and tears pic.twitter.com/1OoCk4Dm6Q

— Margie Myers-Culver (@Loveofxena) February 12, 2016

Thoughts, questions and emotions swirled around in my head.  I reached out to an author friend, Victoria J. Coe ( Fenway and Hattie G. P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin Random House, February 9, 2016) in the form of email conversations.  She gave me invaluable insights from an author's perspective.

It became abundantly clear a reread of the book was absolutely necessary.  Yesterday I read Pax again, marking specific portions of text and taking written notes for each chapter.  Without hesitation it can be said this book will remain in your mind and heart always for reasons each reader brings with them before they read a single word.

The fox felt the car slow before the boy did, as he felt everything first.  Through the pads of his paws, along his spine, in the sensitive whiskers at his wrists.  

These are the first two sentences of many filling the two hundred seventy-six pages following a singular journey taken by the fox, Pax, and his boy, Peter. Beginning with Pax and concluding with Peter we mark the days through their voices in alternating chapters.  When the car finally stops, their lives, as they both understand them, will change.  So will they.

Five years ago shortly after his mother died in an automobile accident Peter found the fox kit, orphaned and alone; barely alive among his deceased siblings.  Now at twelve years old Peter has been ordered by his father to abandon the fox in the wild.  Peter has to go live with his grandfather.  War is coming to their portion of the country and his father has enlisted.

Peter gets Pax to leave them by playing a game of fetch with a toy soldier.  In this game, Pax gets the soldier and waits for Peter to come to him.  This time Pax waits and Peter does not come.  Pax hears the doors slam shut and the car speed away.

Realizing deep in his being the mistake he made in leaving Pax, Peter does not spend the first night sleeping at his grandfather's home.  He is determined to cross the three hundred miles back to the place where Pax was left.  After filling his backpack with essential items he leaves that night.

Amidst the preparations for war, evacuations and the growing number of troops in encampments, Peter travels toward Pax as the fox waits for his return.  Neither of them is prepared for the events they will endure and the people and the animals they will encounter.  They will each do what needs to be done to survive, knowing they must be together.

Readers are introduced to Vola, a war veteran with a prosthetic leg, living alone in the country.  Through an accident she and Peter establish a bond which heals and helps them both physically and emotionally.  A young vixen, Bristle, her younger brother, Runt and an older fox, Gray, develop a relationship which initially seems unlikely given their histories.

The sense of urgency felt in the first chapter never leaves as the pace continues to quicken and the suspense grows chapter by chapter.  Days of separation between the fox and his boy turn into one week and then two.  Exquisitely woven into their stories are themes of generational parental anger, grief, the definition of family, the art of comprise, forgiveness, what is done for the sake of love and the effects of war (before, during and after) on everyone and everything.  The conclusion will stun you.  You will continue to have questions.  You will come to understand you have read perfection.


For anyone, at any age, who has felt the unbreakable tie with an animal, the first chapter written by Sara Pennypacker will, I believe, cause them to pause.  It will grip you and hold fast.  Then you will take huge gulps of the story at a time compelled by defining episodes from the past blended into the present narrative.

Pennypacker's writing is explicit and elegant.  Our minds are held to the exact place, time, emotions and movements of the characters.  Portrayals of Pax's days are true to life, supported by research and the counsel of a biologist and wildlife tracker specializing in the red fox.  The conversations between Peter and his grandfather, father and Vola are realistically heartrending and heartwarming.  Personally after reading the thoughts of Pax and Peter I found myself cheering for them, wanting to embrace them for their courage and loyalty.  Here are some sample passages.

When his paws were cleaned, he curled them up under his chest to wait.  The morning air pulsed with the noises of spring.  The long night before, they had alarmed Pax.  The blackness had quivered with the rustle of night prowlers, and even the sounds of the trees themselves---leaves unfurling, sap coursing up new wood, the tiny cracklings of expanding bark---had startled him over and over as he waited for Peter to return.

Pax had been born with the same instinct as well, but distrust is no match for kindness administered consistently and unmeasured, especially in creatures new to the world.

"I have more than everything I need." Vola sat. "I have peace here.
"Because it's so quiet?"
"No.  Because I am exactly where I should be, doing exactly what I should be doing.  That is peace.  Eat."

At that, Peter felt suddenly exhausted, as if he'd been holding himself rigid for years.  He had been on his own for so long.
Vola studied him.  "Oneness is always growing in the world, boy.  Two but not two.  It's always there, connecting its roots, humming.  I can't be a part of it---that's the price I pay for taking myself away.  But you can be.  You can vibrate with its heartbeat.  You may be on your own.  But you won't be alone.


The richness of the limited color palette selected by artist Jon Klassen for the dust jacket is earthy and warm like the smell of fur kissed by the sun. (I am seriously thinking of buying another copy just so I can frame the entire image revealed when opening the jacket.)  Underneath the book case is a deep forest green with embossed grasses, flowers, Peter and Pax.  The boy is running from the back, left, to the fox on the front that is leaping to him.  Only Pax and the text are filled with copper-colored foil.  

Within the body of the book Klassen has meticulously placed eloquent black and white images; some single pages, others smaller insets and two spanning double pages.  These illustrations illuminate particular and integral portions of the story.  Each of the chapter numbers is placed inside either a small black picture of the head of Pax or Peter.  One of my favorite illustrations is of Pax and Runt curled together in sleep.  There is another I love but...


Pax written by Sara Pennypacker with illustrations by Jon Klassen is one of those novels you read that will leave a mark on your memory.  Years later you will not forget how you felt when you finished it, even if you don't recall all the details.  You will remember that this book made you think, ask questions and deeply care for the characters.  And...you will read it more than once.

If you desire to learn more about Sara Pennypacker and Jon Klassen please follow the links attached to their names to access their website (Tumblr) pages.  At the publisher's website you can read an excerpt from the book.  A website dedicated to the book has been created.  Here is a link to a discussion guide perfect for group readings or individuals who wish to expand their thinking.  There have been numerous interviews with Sara Pennypacker about Pax; Publishers Weekly Cover Reveal: Pax, Publishers Weekly Pennypacker Supports New Novel at Fall Regionals,  NPR All Things Considered  Left To Fend For Himself, 'Pax' The Fox Must Find His Human Friend, and School Library Journal War Through a Child's---and a Fox's---Eyes:  Sara Pennypacker on Her New Novel, Pax|Under the Covers.  

UPDATE:  Jon Klassen stopped at Brightly: Portraying Pax in Pencil: A Q & A with Illustrator Jon Klassento talk about creating the artwork for Pax.

Monotonous Mirth

Beach glass among a shoreline strewn with dull gray rocks and pebbles stands out like a beacon.  Popping up through dusty brown leaves, the first crocus shouts out the changing season.  A star-studded midnight walk can shift into the realm of science fiction if the Northern Lights decide to pulse across the horizon.

Similarly if you've ever been in a day-to-day situation suddenly shaken from tedium by a glaring contrast, it's hard not to experience a huge emotional shift.  There are those who would gasp at the change in continuity.  Meet the Dullards (Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, March 24, 2015) written by Sara Pennypacker with illustrations by Daniel Salmieri is about such a family; at least the parents.

One day, Mr. and Mrs. Dullard received quite a nasty surprise.

They are shocked to see their daughter and sons reading books.  This is quite unacceptable.  As a replacement the children are given blank, pristine white, paper to read.

The behavior of the children has been rather strange. Mr. and Mrs. Dullard are certain something is influencing them in an unsavory manner.  They've asked to go to school.  They've been trying to play outside.  This calls for drastic action.

Let's pause here for a moment.  Mr. and Mrs. Dullard are exactly as their name implies.  They think a snail crossing the road is

like a circus around here.

Without a second thought the family packs up and moves to a new location.  The neighbor lady, as a show of good will, brings them an applesauce cake which is turned away due to the chunky ingredients.  To calm their nerves the children are instructed to watch television.  It is, of course, unplugged.

When the parents next check on their hopefully dull children in this new boring setting, they swoon from another surprise.  To cover this latest misadventure of their offspring, they head to the paint store.  After a suitable shade is selected and applied at home, they all stare at the walls watching it dry.

When Mr. and Mrs. shake themselves out of this pleasant reverie, their children have vanished.  What the parents discover is indeed appalling.  As quick as a wink Blanda, Borely, and Little Dud and all the Dullard possessions are again loaded into the car and trailer and the family heads back to their original residence.  Relieved that total dullness is restored mom and dad drift off to dreamland as the sister and brothers race toward their dreams.


Throughout the story the three children never utter a single word.  Sara Pennypacker pens a superb setting for comedy to prevail by combining parental conversations with the narration.  Her sentences leave space for visual interpretation by the illustrator by not always stating the specifics but they also leave no doubt as to the dreariness of the Dullard's lives.  Here are a couple of examples.

Mrs. Dullard shook her head sadly.
"Where did we go wrong?"
"Now, now," Mr. Dullard comforted his wife.
"It can't be our fault...we're perfectly dull.
"Perhaps it's this place," he said. "Last fall, remember, 
some leaves turned color. ...

"Please don't use exclamation marks in front of our children," said Mrs. Dullard.


The family Dullards featured on the front of the dust jacket (I'm working from an F & G) is as bland as can be; standing stiffly all in a row, wearing gray clothing, lacking any sort of style, with faces nearly devoid of expression.  The one exception is Little Dud.  His head turned to watch the dog balancing on the ball is the first hint of attitude drifting away from dull.  On the back, to the left, within a circular shape surrounded by blue sits an open box.  Its label reads Interesting Items.  Inside are a game, Monotony, and a book, Cooking Without Flavor.  The title page showcases three photographs, one for each of the children, shown in situations with their boredom in comparison to the other animated children.  With a page turn, the verso and first page of the narrative show the aghast looks on Mr. and Mrs. Dullard's faces as they see their children reading...horror of horrors...books.

Rendered in watercolor, gouache and colored pencil, the images stretch and fuel the text with utmost hilarity.  Daniel Salmieri has a true gift at featuring, through his pictures, insider moments in contradiction to the written words.  Most of the illustrations span two pages with only a few exceptions.  Those exceptions, like the image on the back of the dust jacket, are framed in a smaller circle, delineating a special sequence. Careful readers will watch the children, their body postures, and facial expressions to gather clues as humorous expectations grow.

One of my favorite illustrations is one of several which are wordless.  Mr. and Mrs. Dullard have found their children, after the watching-the-paint-dry episode, playing outside.  Spanning two pages is the open window with them standing on either side.  Against the background of a sky at sunset the children are engaged in activities reflective of their heart's desires, hinted at in their reading choices and their antics at the paint store.  The looks on everyone's faces are laughter inducing.


Meet the Dullards written by Sara Pennypacker with illustrations by Daniel Salmieri is most assuredly not the Extra Boring Edition!!  This title is going to become a story time and bedtime favorite due to what I term a supremely high laughter factor.  The constant comedic contrasts between text and images and the parents and their children make this a picture book prize.

For more information about both Sara Pennypacker and Daniel Salmieri please visit their websites by following the links attached to their names.

An Equinox, Food Names, Bus Seven and a Visit to Plimoth

In my way of thinking it's all about perspective.  When my chocolate Labrador had a close encounter with a white-tailed deer, after a moment of stunned silence, she was ready for the chase.  Earnest barking begins if she gets a whiff of one in the neighborhood.  A younger child would probably be awestruck before the squeals of wonder began.  I freely admit a part of me feels the same as the child, even after seeing hundreds of deer, up close or from afar, in my lifetime.  Another part of me, the gardener, thinks about all the tulips I never see bloom after the deer come through munching on all the buds.

For an author to give a reader the perspective of one or all of the characters in their story, to see the world through their eyes, is golden.  Author Sara Pennypacker (with spirited, hilarious illustrations by Caldecott Honor Medalist Marla Frazee) further endears readers to a favorite third grade student in Clementine and the Spring Trip (Disney Hyperion Books, March 2013).  There is never, ever a dull moment in the life of this mostly optimistic, daring and effervescent gal.

Spring is a really big deal here in Boston, let me tell you.  After all that snow and ice, the whole city goes a little crazy when the first warm weather shows up.

Spring for Clementine's best friend, Margaret, means cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning.  The story opens with her scrubbing the duck statues in the Public Gardens at the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture.  For Margaret's brother, Mitchell, it equals baseball and the Red Sox.  It translates into walking through the park for Clementine's pregnant mom, her dad and little brother (who she gives various vegetable names throughout the story).  For Clementine it means remembering the apple seeds she planted last fall near their building.

Excitement for the field trips spring brings hits the students at Clementine's school and in her classroom.  You have an increasingly lively four days during a special week when you add to this mix her teacher's impending fatherhood, fourth grade quiet eating rules, a new student named Olive, the shenanigans of a former student Baxter and the odoriferous Bus Seven.  On the day before the visit to Plimoth Plantation, a teacher request causes creative thinking on Clementine's part along with unease due to unwanted challenges.

On the home front Clementine's mom teeters between her cheery self and crunchy moments.  Outspoken for all the right reasons, her passion is never quiet.  A secret Pentagon project with her dad spiced with his stories of how and when he fell in love with her mom provides balance for our spunky protagonist.

As fate would decree, Clementine's group is assigned to the infamous bus, home of The Cloud. Conversations and actions by this inventive third grader during the field trip will have readers alternately laughing, cheering and admiring her.  Spring may make people a little crazy but Clementine addresses it all with surety, success and by heeding words of wisdom from her dad.


Clearly evident in this title is Sara Pennypacker's ability to create characters readers will want to visit over and over again.  We want to know what they will say and do.  Their perfection as people is that they are not perfect!  What Clementine, her mom, her dad, little brother, Margaret, Mitchell, Olive and the rest of the crew represent are good people being the best they can, when they can.

Even if this is the first title in the series read, you will immediately become part of the story, an enthusiastic participant, due to Pennypacker's style of writing. Her assessment of any given situation through Clementine's dialog or thoughts (or conversations with other characters) will have you gleefully chuckling.  Every single word is carefully chosen, linked to another and to another, until there are a series of sentences creating this memorable book.  Here are a few of many examples I marked with sticky notes. (Upon completion of my reading this title, it definitely had the porcupine look.)

Some workmen were jackhammering up a curbstone, which made my brother so excited he looked like he was being electrocuted.  

My dad came in then, with my brother in his arms.  "There is a rule about eating sounds?" he asked.
"Of course," I said.  And then I explained to my parents everything Margaret had warned me about.
When I was finished, my dad looked up from stirring yogurt into my brother's cereal. "Who made this rule?" he asked.
"Dad.  I already said.  The fourth graders.  First the mean ones, and now all of them."
"Yes, but who are these people? The sound police?"


And that is when I saw something I had never seen in my entire life:  Mrs. Rice was not wearing her principal shoes!  Instead, her feet were strapped into some navy blue puffy things.  I climbed over the back of Olive's seat and hung down to get a better look.  I think the things on her feet were supposed to be sandals, but what they looked like was...car seats!


If the corners of your mouth don't curl up in a smile when looking at the four drawings of Clementine Marla Frazee has on the title, verso and dedication pages, you might want to check for a pulse.  The black and white drawings in various sizes, some full page, illuminate every delightful scenario.  They are placed opposite and among the narrative to generate a seamless flow, a complete whole.  I can't look at the pages of the students' reactions to the discussion of The Cloud or Clementine's plea to her principal prior to the field trip without laughing.


If you are searching for one hundred fifty pages of pure bliss, Clementine and the Spring Trip written by Sara Pennypacker with illustrations by Marla Frazee is the book for you.  I would not hesitate to recommend this for a group read aloud or to an individual reader looking for upbeat realistic fiction.  If they haven't read any of the other titles in the series, I can guarantee this will make them want to do so as quickly as possible.

Please follow the links embedded in the author and illustrator names above to access their websites to read more about them and their work.  There is a study guide for the series at Sara Pennypacker's website.  This link will take you to the publisher's website where you can read the first chapter.