Panda in the Park

Animal Ark [GB Order] #38

by Anna Milbourne, Rachel Wells

Book Board BookPublication 6/1/2002 10Reading Age 2 and Up

Genres: Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Picture Books, Juvenile, Kids

10 pages, Board Book

First published February 1, 1999

About the author

Growing up in North West England and in Germany, Anna wrote plays about talking animals, and stories about naughty children, and drew on every available surface. After school, she did an Art Foundation course, then a degree in German Literature & Philosophy at Oxford University. In 1998 she found her perfect job at Usborne in London, writing about everything from curious penguins to trips to the Moon. Usborne.com

Reviews

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but I wish there was a little more to it. May or may not get for Baby Girl.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute picture board that your child can touch and put his/her fingers in the holes as he/she tries to figure out who is hiding. This is a board book so it will last. I enjoyed the drawings and the guessing game.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The appeal of this one for my kids has always been the cutouts. There’s really not much to the story or pictures otherwise.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of 35 or so books in the Animal Ark series that Scholastic in America would choose not to publish. Just why is anybody's guess. This was the first book of the Animal Ark In Danger! Trilogy. Scholastic would choose to skip the entire trilogy. This was the trilogy where Mandy and James confront poachers, whether directly or indirectly. Perhaps that's what scared Scholastic off. On page 5, the adults talk about how a "panda corridor" was important for pandas to find mates, so that could've been another reason.

This book was written by Kirsty White. Offhand, I can't remember her writing any other book in the Animal Ark Universe. Ann Baum does the illustrations with her usual depth and feeling. She not only draws good pandas, but also musk deer.

The set-up is that Emily Hope has been working with a charity for "a couple of months" in China with pandas. The rest of the Hopes, and James (of course) finally arrange to meet her and the pandemonium begins. I've banged on before in several other Animal Ark book reviews about the virtual impossibly of the Hopes being able to keep their vet practice, since they're away so often, but I'm too tired to do it here. Ditto for the characters never aging.

This is not a good book to start off the series with. You need to get the feel of the whole wonderful silliness of it before diving into this trilogy. Animal Ark was at its best when it addressed important Animal welfare issues, such as poaching. That being said, this is one of the more forgettable books in the series, particularly compared to the book that follows it. Confronting poachers became such a common theme in the series that a lot of the books just kind of blend together.

[Mavis’s Dad · Rating 2 out of 5]

At 6 months of age, Mavis has really started to enjoy reading and this book appears to be a favorite. The hide and seek nature of the book is fun, even if the words are pretty lame.

Moral: Somebody always sees you when you’re trying to hide.

Length: Very short and very repetitive.

Favorite Line: “Who’s hiding in there?”

Overall impression: Hide and Seek is more fun in real life than in a book. But hey - I’m not 6 months old and immobile. So I guess The Baby takes what she can get. The illustrations and text are below average at best, but I suppose the Panda and its friends left enough of an impression to add a star on behalf of Mavis.

[Rhianna Wooff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't normally read animal ark books, but read this at school and absolutely loved it. Felt emotional but also warm at the same time.

[Ali Mandala-Kaynak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute illustrations. Love the hidden illustrations. Great for little ones

[Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

Checked out from Baraboo Public Library in WI

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful book is short which is perfect for my two-year-old girl. I picked it out since my daughter loves panda bears. The panda plays a game of guess-who in the park with various animals. Hannah really enjoyed guessing who the animal was and became giddy when the page was turned and the animal was revealed.

I brought it back to the library and that very morning, received a call from my daughter asking me where the Panda in the Park book is. I know which book I will be picking up at the library on my way home. Thank you, Anna Milbourne.

[iimeldah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Have Been Reading Animal Arc Books For A Long Time But This Book Is One Of My Favourites This Book Is About A Panda That Isnt Well And The Panda Enviroment Being Demolished And The Panda Population Going Extinct.

[Emerson and Theodore · Rating 5 out of 5]

We just can't get out of the zoo without buying their great cute books!
Emerson loves Panda in the Park. A cute peek-a-boo pook where the animals find each other through the cut out pages. Very cute and a nice twist on the touch/feel books that we have.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter loves this book and giggles every time I read it to her. It's creatively put together and a fun read!

[Sammy]

I was completely obsessed with this series of books when I was a child and my aim was to read every single book. They are a really good children's series.

[Taylor Troncin]

Loved this series when I was younger. Still a huge animal lover and would like to read the rest of this series!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really cute hide and seek book for babies.

[Roo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ella liked putting her finger through the holes in the pages.

[Lydibit · Rating 3 out of 5]

play hide and seek with this panda is that snake's tail?

[Trey Auntie Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the detail.

* 6yo read this independently.