Ponder and William

by Barbara Softly, Diana John (Illustrator)

Ponder the panda's everyday job was to take care of William's pyjamas (being a pyjama case). But when William was staying with Cousin Winifred for weekends he did all sorts of other things as well - like flying a kite, painting a garden seat (and himself), or being chased by a hedgehog which he mistook for a scrubbing brush. The thirty-six short stories (six each for Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter) can be read aloud to the very young and after they have shared Ponder's special discoveries with each season they may be able to tell their own day's adventures, and perhaps even make up songs about them as Ponder does. Paperback, pp125

125 pages, Paperback

First published June 25, 1970

Reviews

[Chris Browning]

It’s very sweet and you can pretty much tell the sort of twinkly woman Softly must have been, but the main problem is that not much really happens and it’s clearly designed for reading aloud. And the biggest problem for me is that while reading i was casting around for a suitable voice for the slightly foolish pomposity of Ponder the panda and for some mad reason accidentally harnessed the voice of Bob Mortimer in the Tom Fun and Derek sketches, which in turn meant that William now sounds like Vic doing Tom. Which really considerably ruins the impact I can tell you now

[Katy Wheatley]

William is four. When he goes to stay in the country with Cousin Winifred, he has lots of adventures with his friend Ponder. Ponder is a pyjama case in the shape of a panda and is full of enthusiasm and bounce. These are gentle stories in which very little happens but which are full of the small adventures that make up children's lives, then and now. They fly a kite, they make a cake, they climb trees and get muddy. This series of books was a firm favourite when I was young and are just as lovely now if you want to curl up and forget the world for an hour. Every story ends with a poem by Ponder about the adventure they just had. Think Shirley Hughes and you'll be about there.

[Sharni]

Broken into seasons, William spends a weekend with his beloved cousin Winifred and Ponder the pyjama case (who is real like Hobbs the Tiger is and can act independently while simultaneously storing William’s pyjamas). Each season contains 2 stories (and a song!!) all quite lovely and gentle but not particularly exciting for an adult reader…