Panda's puzzle, and his voyage of discovery

by Michael Foreman

Panda travels all around the world trying to find out whether he is a "white bear with black bits or a black bear with white bits?"

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Michael has worked on magazines, book jackets, animated films, TV adverts, and even for the police, sketching criminals described by witnesses. As well as illustrating many of his own books, Michael has illustrated over a hundred books for authors such as Shakespeare, J. M. Barrie, the Brothers Grimm, Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde. Michael has travelled widely - to Africa, Japan, the Arctic Circle, China and Malaysia, the Himalayas, Siberia and New Zealand - to research his books. "I do a lot of research when I'm travelling - I find it thrilling to discover the particular 'art' of different landscapes and work them into a book. But I find I have to travel by myself, otherwise I'm constantly getting involved in other people's impressions of a place... I try to be invisible when I'm travelling, so I tend to listen in on conversations rather than participate in them - I just want to look and draw."

Reviews

[Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story reminded me so much of the one in Brian Patten's The Story Giant. An inquisitive Panda sets out across the world to find out who he is. As he travels he finds that the answers he gets are often more confusing that the one he is looking for until, of course, he reaches home. I have always liked Foreman's writing and wish he'd do more. Alongside his beautiful, watercolour landscapes this is a lovely story for the older and younger children as they'll take as much from it as they're ready for.