The Emperor's Panda

by David Day

In the time of China's fabled Celestial Empire, Kung the Fluteplayer searches for his Uncle Latzu, who has been kidnapped by wicked wizards, and meets the Master Panda, a charming creature possessing great wisdom and serenity

109 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

David Day (b. 14 October 1947 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a Canadian author of over forty books: poetry, natural history, ecology, mythology, fantasy, and children's literature. Internationally he is most notably known for his literary criticism on J. R. R. Tolkien and his works.

After finishing high school in Victoria, British Columbia, Day worked as a logger for five years on Vancouver Island before graduating from the University of Victoria. Subsequently he has travelled widely, most frequently to Greece and Britain.

Day has published six books of poems for adults and ten illustrated children's books of fiction and poetry. His non-fiction books on natural history include The Doomsday Book of Animals, The Whale War, Eco Wars: a Layman Guide to the Environmental Movement, Noah's Choice and most recently Nevermore: A Book of Hours - Meditations on Extinction (2012).

His Doomsday Book was a Time Magazine Book of the Year and became the basis for the 100 part animated-short TV series "Lost Animals of the 20th Century".

David Days best-selling books on the life and works of JRR Tolkien include: A Tolkien Bestiary, Tolkien: the Illustrated Encyclopedia, Tolkien's Ring, The World of Tolkien and The Hobbit Companion.

Day's Tolkien's Ring was illustrated by academy award-winning artist Alan Lee, as was Castles, The Animals Within, Gothic and Quest For King Arthur.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I was a young kid, this was awesome transgressive fantasy. It had a yin-yang symbol in it as one of the illustrations for crying out loud! That's the kind of thing that got this book banned from school and home. I think this book must have come free from scholastic or something, way back when I was quite young, and being a budding geek, I was super excited about it. Dragons! Mystical China! Magic! Exoticism! I hid the book from my parents and kept it to read again to my own kids. Buuuuttttt.... it's pretty dated now. Mystical, exotic China as told by white folks is not a good look in the 2020s, and dark skinned people described as "simian" isn't either. It's funny how books (or any cultural artifact), despite their flaws, might open your world up at one time in your life, and then look reprehensible at another time. My kids didn't really enjoy it either. Grace Lin's Where the Mountain Meets the Moon has some surprising similarities, but pulls this kind of story off much better.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable tale to read with nice illustrations! I can see how this would be fun to read aloud to your kids honestly (though I also liked it as an adult lol). Also fun fact! David Day found inspiration to write this book when the 2 pandas Qing Qing and Quan Quan visited Canada for the very first time! He visited them while they stayed at the Toronto Zoo while writing this.

I will say though that there were times that the fact that this was written in the 80s shows, and not in a flattering way. It didn't happen often, but David Day did sometimes use terms that we definitely know better than to use now, like how it's definitely not ok to describe dark skinned people as "simian" and he uses the word with a capitial S as if that's just their name the same as "that person is Chinese"?? Thankfully these terms were only used for 2 of the 100+ pages and so it wasn't a pervasive issue throughout the book, still not pleasant to run into though. This book was reissued in 2013 to celebrate the arrival of Da Mao and Er Shun at the Toronto Zoo, so I wonder if they made any fixes to the problematic language... (my edition is 1987 reprint)

If you approach the book acknowledging that it is, in part, a product of its time, it's overall a fun tale I can tell why it was so popular - just don't take it at its word when it comes to Chinese legends because Day took a few liberties.

[Tamsin Ramone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book when I was a kid but reading it to my own daughter was more of a struggle. She wasn’t as into it as I had been!

[Keely Hyslop · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another of my childhood favorites. Don't remember who got it for me or where they found it, but I vaguely remember debating whether or not to pack it with me as I was putting together my backpack for the first day of first grade. The story is about a shepherd boy whose uncle is kidnapped by evil wizards who sets out on a dangerous journey into an enchanted forest to rescue him.

Here is the Amazon.com description for anyone interested:

In the mythic Celestial Empire of China long ago, Kung, a poor shepherd boy, sets out to find his uncle, who has been kidnapped. In a series of adventures, he battles evil wizards to save the world from their darkness. Kung receives help from Master Panda, the first Panda whom the world has known and one who possesses magical secrets. Panda gives Kung a magical ring which makes the wearer invisible. With this ring, Kung travels safely through the valley of the ice dragon and joins a traveling troupe of performers, complete with a dancing unicorn. In the end, he rescues his uncle, saves Panda from the grip of the evil wizards, and weds a princess.

Though it may sound like this description has some spoilers I remember several other things happening in the story that gave it its twists and turns.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

After we finished this book my eight-year-old said: "I LOVED that book!" And every few hours throughout the next day she would say things like:

"Mom, if 25 is the best score a book can have, and 1 is the worst, then I'd give THE EMPEROR'S PANDA 100!"

"Don't you think THE EMPEROR'S PANDA was the best book you've ever read?"

"THE EMPEROR'S PANDA is my favorite book."

You get the idea. :) The book has beautiful illustrations and a nice balance of text and illustrations where you have a picture about every 2 to 3 pages or so. It had a fairy tale/adventure feel to it but with a very unique flavor: the supreme being of the Ninth Heaven created a panda before creating the world, ideas about overcoming evil with reason, not with force, seeking balance--not conflict. I loved the references to Chinese culture and mythology, there's something a little mind stretching and refreshing in reading a story where China is The Celestial Empire at the center of the world.

[Mark Lim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A childhood favorite. I've read a lot of books as a very young kid, Goosebumps, The Hardy Boys and Bobbsey Twins come to mind, but this is the one book from my early childhood I remember completely. I'm certain this is the cause of my love of reading, and the fantasy genre in particular. If you're an adult, give this an hour or two of your time. If you have kids, use this to spur their love of books.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't been able to finish this due to my busy schedule, so I will update my review when I'm finally able to sit down and give people what they need to hear.

All I can say right now is: awesome.

David Day is awesome.
This book is awesome.
Mine is a signed copy, which is awesome.


Awesome isn't a legitimate review so please hold for a proper review in the next week ;)

[Devon K]

I want to go back and reread this one (then maybe I'll write a real review) but I remember loving it when I was a kid.

[Jonna · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd book I've now read aloud for my baby