Pax

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. What is Pax’s favorite toy?

2. What was the relationship between Peter’s father and his dog?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why doesn’t Pax want to go back to Peter’s original home?

Paired Resource

“Deep Connections: The Power of the Human-Animal Bond”

• This brief article includes a bulleted list of benefits that result from a close connection with an animal.
• What benefits did Peter likely experience while having Pax for a pet? What context clues in Chapters 1-3 lead you to think so?

Chapters 4-7

Reading Check

1. What does Peter stop to buy in the middle of the day?

2. What nickname does Pax give Bristle?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What physical gestures do foxes make when they expect submission? Why does the Vixen employ this gesture, and how is this moment significant?

2. Why does Peter lie when his therapist asks him if he ever felt angry?

Paired Resource

“Abandonment Trauma: Effects and Symptoms in Children and Adults”

• This article provides a brief analysis of the role of anger and other negative emotions common in people who have experienced abandonment. (This source is teacher-appropriate and not student-facing due to potential sensitivity for individual circumstances.)
• The information in the article may be helpful in providing ideas and language if readers choose to discuss Pax’s confusion and emotional pain evident in these chapters.

Chapters 8-12

Reading Check

1. What do the wild foxes smell that tells them they need to leave the territory?

2. What happened to Bristle’s mother?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Peter lie when Vola first demands to know who he is?

Paired Resource

Fox Habitat, Behavior, and Facts

• This article provides information including where foxes live, what they eat, and how they relate to one another.
• This information connects to the theme of Escape From Captivity Into the Wild.
• How do the behavior and actions of the foxes in Pax mirror the descriptions of fox behavior in the article?

Chapters 13-15

Reading Check

1. What does Runt find for Pax to eat when he’s hungry?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why did Peter’s mother treasure the bracelet?

2. How does Pax describe Peter’s scent? What is significant about this description?

Paired Resource

“The Legend of the Phoenix”

• This article discusses the legend of the phoenix rising.
• In connected discussion, you might address the theme of Escape From Captivity Into the Wild.
• Why do you think Peter’s mother enjoyed the symbolism of the phoenix? Why is this symbol significant to Peter?

Chapters 16-18

Reading Check

1. What did Vola find in the pockets of a man she killed in war?

2. How does Gray die?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What information did Gray obtain when he was killed, and how is it significant?

2. What does Vola do to help Peter learn to put together the puppet, and how are these actions meaningful?

Chapters 19-21

Reading Check

1. What happens to Runt when the wire explodes?

2. What does the small figure carved by Peter look like?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. How does Pax explain Peter’s behavior to Bristle when he thinks of Peter throwing the toy soldier in the woods? What does this choice of words demonstrate about Pax?

Chapters 22-24

Reading Check

1. Who is the main character in Peter’s surprise show?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What is the first condition of the agreement between Peter and Vola?

2. Why do Peter and the Shortstop share a moment of peace?

Chapters 25-28

Reading Check

1. What is the first prey that Pax catches with Bristle’s help?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does the soldier tell Peter? What makes the soldier’s demeanor change from anger to understanding when Peter tries to enter past the guard station?

Chapters 29-34

Reading Check

1. What do the foxes smell that causes Bristle to scream?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Peter say when Vola asks him what side of the war his father fought on? Why does Peter scream “Pax” when he sees a toy soldier on the ground?

Recommended Next Reads 

Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl

• Mr. Fox and his animal friends live near three cruel farmers who continually attempt to kill the animals, but Mr. Fox and his friends outsmart them and steal all the food they want.
• A shared theme is False-Acting.
• Shared topics include action and adventure, escape, and tension between foxes and humans.
• Fantastic Mr. Fox on SuperSummary

Brian’s Return by Gary Paulson

• This is a narrative about a teenager’s return to civilization after an extended outdoor survival adventure.
• A shared theme is Escape From Captivity Into the Wild.
• Shared topics include living in the wild and safety versus danger.
• Brian’s Return on SuperSummary