How This Book Got Red

by Margaret Chiu Greanias, Melissa Iwai (Illustrator)

Overview

None of the panda books are ever about red pandas!

Red is going to do something about that.

When Red discovers a new book about pandas, she can't wait to read it! Except it's about only one kind of panda, and red pandas are completely left out. Red never gets to read stories about pandas like herself! So she decides to take matters into her own paws and write her own book.

But sometimes Red wonders if the only kind of pandas the world sees are the black and white kind. What if nobody wants to read her book? Red must find the courage to finish her story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728265650
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	10/03/2023
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	370,268
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	AD490L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Margaret Chiu Greanias is the author of the picture books Amah Faraway and Maximillian Villainous. The daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, she grew up in New York, Texas, and California. She now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and three children.

Melissa Iwai is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator of Soup Day, Pizza Day, Dumplings for Lili, and the I Can Read series Gigi and Ojiji. She has illustrated over forty picture books during her career. Melissa lives in Brooklyn with her husband and Shiba Inu daughter, Nikki. She and has a soft spot for cuteness with attitude, and red pandas and black-and-white pandas always make her smile.

Editorial Reviews

"Recommended for those who doubt themselves or could use a confidence booster, 4.5/5 stars" — Youth Services Book Review

"Greanias illustrates perfectly, in a way that children will intuitively understand, why it’s so crucial for everyone to see themselves depicted in media… astute and adorable." — Kirkus Reviews, STARRED review

"Delightful...puts in kid-friendly terms why it's so important that children with diverse backgrounds and perspectives see themselves represented in the media." — Bay Area Parent

"Sweet and clever." — Book Riot

"The timeless, valued theme of friends helping each other drives much of this story… very engaging." — Children's Literature Comprehensive Database

"How This Book Got Red is a deceptively gentle tale; it’s actually a powerful story of healing that comes from finding the courage to take on righting a wrong." — New York Review of Books

"[How This Book Got Red] excels at breaking down the simplicity of wanting to be included into a charming friendship story…heartwarming." — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

10/27/2023

PreS-Gr 2—In a wildlife window-and-mirrors moment, the red panda who stars in this picture book resents that everyone's definition of "panda" seems to only make room for the black-and-white panda default. The small, determined creature decides to write a book about red pandas, to amplify their profile; but it's a difficult task, and giving up is the only recourse. In exuberant illustrations that chronicle the ups and downs of the tale, other red pandas come across the rejected project, ecstatic to find themselves in the pages of a story. The red panda is similarly overjoyed and recreates the book, putting it on to as many shelves as she can find with the help of her good friend, the black-and-white panda Gee, who illustrates. There are red panda facts in this story of empowerment, but what it excels at is breaking down the simplicity of wanting to be included into a charming friendship story. Gee, at first, doesn't really see the big deal, but quickly comes to support the heroine. And the delight of other red pandas is genuinely heartwarming. VERDICT A simple quest for inclusion unfolds for the very young, although the pun in the title deflects from the book's true worth.—Kimberly Olson Fakih

School Library Journal

★ 2023-06-21
A red panda notices that media is dominated by giant pandas.

One day, Red (an adorable red panda) and her friend Gee (an equally cute black-and-white giant panda) find a book about pandas. Red’s initial excitement turns to disappointment when she sees that the entire book is about giant pandas, with nary a red panda in sight. “Who wrote this anyway!?” she fumes. “Ohhhhhhh!” says Gee as they spot a giant panda’s author photo on the back flap. Red decides to write her own book about red pandas, but as the pair walk through the town, readers will notice all the giant panda merchandise (even red panda children have black-and-white dolls), including the bookstore display. “No one wants to read about red pandas,” Red concludes and tosses her half-finished book away. Later, the friends find a group of pandas crowded around her unfinished book. “That one looks just like me!” one red panda points out. They tell Red that they want and need this book, which inspires her to persevere. Greanias illustrates perfectly, in a way that children will intuitively understand, why it’s so crucial for everyone to see themselves depicted in media; Iwai’s lovable panda characters, rendered in colorful watercolor, pencil, and digital tools, are irresistible. A final joyful spread portrays a future in which both types of pandas are represented everywhere, and crayon-drawn endpapers show pages from Red’s book. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Astute and adorable commentary on media representation. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews