Why Pax by Sara Pennypacker Is a Powerful Novel for Middle School Students

 Some novels are easy to read through with students.

Others give you so much to talk about that you find yourself stopping every few pages to have deep discussions with your students.

Pax by Sara Pennypacker is one of those books.

At first glance, it seems like a loving story about a boy and his fox.  But as students read, they discover a bigger story, one that can open the door to conversations about friendship, loyalty, perspective, character development, war, loss, healing, and the choices people make that they have to live with.

That's why I think Pax is a particularly powerful novel for upper elementary and middle school students.

Alternating Points of View

This is the story of a young boy named Peter and the fox he raised from a kit. When war comes close and Peter's father enlists, Peter is forced to leave Pax by the side of the road. The rest of the book alternates between the boy and the fox as each tries to find the other.

One of the most interesting features of Pax is that the story moves between the points of view of Peter and Pax.  That makes it more than a simple "What happened in this chapter?" reading experience.

Because the story alternates in this way, students hear very different perspectives.  That creates natural opportunities to ask questions like:

• What does this character notice?
• How do the characters interpret what is happening?
• What does the reader understand that the character doesn't?
• How does changing the point of view impact the way we understand the story?
• Why might the author have chosen to tell the story this way?

I have never read a story where a fox is one of the points of view.  Pennypacker does an excellent job of describing the world from that eye-level and from the kind of understanding a fox might have about humans.  It's really thought-provoking!

The last two questions there get at two challenging concepts for kids - author's purpose and point of view.  This book is rich with examples that students can analyze.

Character Development Becomes Richer

Another reason I like this book so much is that the characters and their dialogue give students something to watch over the course of the book.  Students often struggle to see how characters change through their conversations.  They want to read that Peter was angry or Peter was calm.  This book has many opportunities to plot character development through actions and words.
How does Peter change?  How does Pax change?
Students have opportunities to:

• identify character traits

• find evidence to support those traits

• notice when their thinking or dialogue shows changes

• explain what caused the character to change

• compare characters

• revise earlier predictions

• connect character development to the plot of the story

One activity I like to do is having students add to their understanding of a character as they read.  In the beginning, they may describe a character one way.  Later, new experiences give them evidence that alters their first impressions.

Pax Creates Opportunities for Rich Discussion

I fight the temptation to turn every novel study into a set of worksheets.

I'll admit.  It's easier to grade, and you know kids have read the material.  But, read. Answer ten questions. Read some more.  Answer more questions is the greatest way to turn off any love of reading!

The best opportunities with this novel happen when kids talk about what they're noticing!  Pax is so well suited for that because there aren't simple answers.  Students discuss friendship and loyalty.  They think about how characters see the world.  They think about what they might do versus what the characters do.  
And they start to wrestle with big questions, like:

• How does war change a person?

• How does the setting affect the plot?  A character?

• How do new experiences change someone's perception?

• How does point of view affect the story?

These questions go much deeper, and show the level of comprehension students have, in a much stronger way than a worksheet would.

Don't Underestimate the Power of the Fox

One of the most layered points of understanding is when students identify with Pax; they aren't only understanding the story from a human perspective, and that's something.  Take a look at:

• What does Pax notice?

• What does he understand?

• What does he misunderstand?

• What can students infer from what he notices?

• How does reading Pax's perspective affect the way they understand Peter?

There's a wealth of content that gets at perspective and empathy.  It's also a great way for students to explore how an author can use a character's perspective to influence the reader.

Are you Thinking of Reading Pax?

If you're planning to teach Pax by Sara Pennypacker, I hope you'll give yourself permission to slow down and let your students talk through the story.

• Let them argue about a character's choices

• Let them change their minds

• Let them make predictions that turn out to be wrong

• Let them notice something they hadn't noticed before

• And give them questions that require them to go back into the text and find evidence for what they think

I've created a complete novel study to make that process easier, with chapter activities, vocabulary, text analysis, character development, figurative language, discussion questions, and extension questions.  Take a closer look at the Pax novel study.