Pax, Journey Home, written by Sara Pennypacker and illustrated by Jon Klassen. Balzer & Bray, Harper. 2021. $21.99 ages 10 and up

 

"Bristle was licking three squirming bodies.
The kits were dark and slick. As his eyes
adjusted, Paw saw tiny legs stretch out from
the pile. Tiny pink paws curled, tiny pink
noses wriggled, and tiny pink ears flicked
with new life."

The moment I started reading this awesome new story about Peter and Pax, I gave in to the many memorable scenes from the first part of their lives together. I can't imagine how hard it must be to take the same beloved characters and write a sequel that so brilliantly gets back to the joy and the loss the two experienced in Pax (Harper, 2019). 

They remain separated a year later, with both being affected in very different ways by postwar rebuilding. Peter has found a home with Vola, a reclusive former soldier. He plans to join the Junior Water Warriors, a group of young people tasked with travelling to reclaim the rivers and reservoirs after the poisons of the war. Once done his work with them, he is determined to return to the home of his childhood. Despite his very young age, he is sure he is ready to live on his own and fend for himself. Vola is impressed with his workmanship in the cabin he has built on her property. She would love for him to stay. Wracked with guilt over the loss of Pax, he feels living alone is the price he must pay for abandoning him.  

The narrative moves back and forth from chapter to chapter; from Pax, an adult fox and attentive, protective mate to Bristle and father to three young kits, to Peter on his path to redemption. Their lives intersect when Pax and his young daughter end up too close to one of the poisoned reservoirs which lies near Peter's home. Their new connection is as strong as the original one. The need for Peter's help with the young kit sets Peter on a path toward a better future.  

This moving sequel is as fine and compelling as the first. Ms. Pennypacker fills it with poignant scenes of hopelessness, determination, fear, connection, loss, love, and family. I so hope to meet these remarkable characters at some future time.