Student Saturday: Pax by Sara Pennypacker

 

GenreLmiddle Grade Adventure

Student Reviewer: Nikita K

Foxes are adorable creatures that are mainly wild, but a lucky few in the world are able to own them as exotic pets. Foxes are exotic because of their natural attachment to the wild, making them hard to grow close to. However, if they become close with their human owners, foxes, with their unique intelligence, will remain loyal and become natural best friends. 

Sara Pennypacker’s “Pax” highlights the rarity of foxes and their loyalty to humans, by displaying a boy named Peter, who lived alone with his father and fox for years, until his father had to leave for the army to take part in an oncoming war in the area he lived in. Since his mother was gone and his grandfather did not want any pets, Peter had to release Pax to the wild, a place where his fox had not been exposed to for years since he was a kit and rescued after losing his own skulk. With them growing up together, they achieved a loyalty and bond to each other that many normal friends and pets don’t typically share. With that being obvious, Peter felt he had an obligation to go out into the wild, with zero experience and a broken leg, to look for his fox and reunite with him.

 

After rereading “Pax” for the third time, this book still manages to hold a spot in my top 5 favorite books of all time. This beautifully written story by Pennypacker does a wonderful job at making the reader feel as if they were right next to Peter and Pax in their journey and help you feel what they feel in the moment. This book comes highly recommended from me to readers from middle school and up who are looking for an adventurous and heartwarming book that is highly realistic and reflects problems in modern day society. 

Ten Bedtime Stories by Emily Hartmann

 

Sweet Dreams by Emily Hartmann

In this picture book the author takes us through the nightly rituals of loving animal parents putting their children to bed. We start with an elephant, giraffe and lion. We are taken on the nightly rituals of ten animals in all. The story is written in little rhymes. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful. Sitting beside your young one reading this bedtime story will relax them and prepare them to go to sleep.

 

Dad Loves Me

In an age where most books are about mommy and baby it is refreshing to see the other side. Within the beautiful illustrations we see different animal fathers doing different things with their young one. Whether is gliding through the night sky, flying a kite or sitting in a corner nibbling cheese, the author has created a beautiful bedtime story especially for fathers to read with their youngest.

Goodnight Kisses

Another cute bedtime story for children. Mother animals snuggle and cuddle their little ones as they prepare for a peaceful night of sleep. Great illustrations to put the youngest child at peace.

 

Mother’s Love

A quiet book to read at bedtime. This book shows the love a mother has for her child as they go about frolicking away the day.

I Love You My little Cub

Dolphins, lions, kangaroo and penguins are just a few of the animals we meet both parent and child. A comforting book to read at bedtime to show how much any child is loved.

Farm Animals

Nice bedtime story that shows how much fun and love the animals have for their children on the farm.

 

The Little Blue Monster

Everyone wants a friend, even a little blue monster. The little blue monster loves to read, paint and have picnics,  but he realizes it would be a lot more fun if he had a friend to share the good times with.

Nighty Night!

Snuggles and love are evident through the pictures in this cute bedtime story. Each animal lets their young one know how much they are loved.

Snuggle Time

A cute bedtime story that shows the importance of being grateful for everything we have.

 

Goodnight Farm Friends

A simple nighttime story to read to your youngest one as you snuggle them into bed. The illustrations of farm animals are wonderful.

Skimmer & Finn: There Are No Pancakes on This Planet by Christopher Francis

 

Genre:  Graphic Novel, Children

Source: I received a copy to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I make my students set reading goals every year. I expect them to read from 11 different genres. I agree to do the same.  The one I struggle with is graphic novels. I grew up reading comic books and such so you would think this wouldn't be an issue. The problem is with the content. So often the book is full of wonderful pictures but lacking in words and plot.  When you read this graphic novel you will find it has it all.  I am looking forward to the next one in this series. 

Skimmer is a robot traveling with his human Finn. Earth had been destroyed 1000 years before and people were put in pods and sent out to other planets to survive. Finn wakes up from his pod and meets Finn who tries to explain things to him.  I laughed so hard because he was told Earth was destroyed and he went through a list of his possessions to see if they were gone. It sounds like any typical kid they are self-centered.  They do find another survivor and that is when things begin to happen.  Will Finn learn or cause more trouble?  This is a must read book and one I look forward to getting for my grandsons.