When I Draw a Panda

by Amy June Bates, Amy June Bates (Illustrator)

Overview

“This amusing picture book encourages imagination and individuality.” —Booklist

From the acclaimed author and illustrator of The Big Umbrella comes a delightful celebration of creativity and gumption about a girl and her panda that’s Calvin and Hobbes meets If You Give a Mouse a Cookie!

Sometimes when they say to draw a perfect circle, mine turn out a little wonky.
I can draw a perfect fluffy cloud, a perfect scoop of ice cream, and a perfect flat tire.
So when I draw a panda, I keep drawing more and more not-perfect circles until I see a panda.
Then I step back and think, Does it need something else? He probably needs a hat, and then he is my panda.

When a girl draws a panda, it comes to life and helps her embrace her own creativity and unique way of seeing the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481451499
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date:	09/22/2020
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
Lexile:	AD530L (what's this?)
File size:	53 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Amy June Bates is the author-illustrator of The Big Umbrella and The Welcome Home. She is also the illustrator of the New York Times bestseller The Leadership Journey by Doris Kearns Goodwin; Sweet Dreams and That’s What I’d Do, both by singer-songwriter Jewel; Waiting for the Magic by Patricia MacLachlan; Joey: The Story of Joe Biden by Dr. Jill Biden; and many others. She has three children and lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, with her husband and her devilishly handsome Labrador, Mr. Mochi.  

Editorial Reviews

"This amusing picture book encourages imagination and individuality."

Booklist

"This book will leave readers feeling not only as though they have gained insight into the artist's life, but that they have been given permission to color outside the lines themselves. Highly Recommended."

School Library Connection

"A celebration of imagination, creativity, and friendship."

The Horn Book

2020-06-16
A child and an imaginary panda draw together in this picture book.

The unnamed narrator, a young child with dark hair and light skin, loves to draw. When the child draws a panda and then a hat for the panda to wear, “he is my panda,” and he goes on to respond to instructions from an unseen “they” by applying his own vision to what they’ve asked for. Clearly the panda is a stand-in for the imagination of the child. Unfortunately, a repetitive point/counterpoint expressed in various iterations of “when they say to draw a perfect… / my panda prefers to draw an imperfect…” becomes a one-note push for the inspiration and fulfillment found in drawing without rules or expectations. And the murky nature of who “they” are—overbearing parents? teachers?—makes for an uncomfortable divisiveness. While the illustrations are loose and flow-y, as befits a story about unhampered creativity, the viewpoint of each double-page spread stagnates: Readers look straight on at panda, child, and blackboard with no change in perspective, and only occasionally does the viewpoint move closer or farther away. The type occasionally leaves its ordered structure, but that’s just not enough to give the overall story any real animation or originality. Readers may be encouraged to draw without expectation of perfection—the point of the story—but the us-versus-them aspect is off-putting. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 22% of actual size.)

Sadly, uninspiring. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews