Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?

Bill Martin's Bears #3

by Bill Martin Jr., Eric Carle (Illustrator)

The creators of the children's classic Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? team up again in this special book about a very important topic—endangered animals. A bald eagle soars, a spider monkey swings, a macaroni penguin struts, and a red wolf sneaks through Bill Martin Jr's rhythmic text and Eric Carle's vibrant images, and all are watched over by our best hope for the future—a dreaming child.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Storytime, Fiction, Kids, Classics

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2003

About the author

Bill Martin, Jr. (1916-2004) was an elementary-school principal, teacher, writer, and poet. His more than 300 books, among them the bestselling classics Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See ; Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear ; Panda Bear Panda Bear What Do You See ; and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom , are a testament to his ability to speak directly to children. Martin held a doctoral degree in early childhood education. Born in Kansas, he worked as an elementary-school principal in Chicago before moving to New York City, where he worked in publishing, developing innovative reading programs for schools. After several years, he devoted himself full-time to writing his children's books. He lived in New York until 1993, when he moved to Texas. He lived in the east Texas woods, near the town of Commerce, until he passed away in 2004.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/billma...

Reviews

[Jon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eric Carle cheapens what once was the great Bear franchise with this egregious piece of dung. After the lyrical, almost mystical revelation that was "Brown Bear, Brown Bear," let's hope this woeful follow-up is relegated to the ashheep of history and Carle is put to death for his heinous crime. Panda Bear, Panda Bear, you know what I see? I see a grotesque exploitation of little children and a soulless money-making machine that needs to be dismantled by anyone who cares about children's literature in the United States. Thanks for making me believe in the magic of make-believe and then dousing me in the cold water of commercial reality.

I will be leading a rally against "Panda Bear, Panda Bear" and the Von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, location as yet to be determined, on Christmas Day this year, or sometime thereafter. Please email me for more info. Together, we can make a difference. Thank you.

(p.s. - Wait, I meant "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear," not "Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?" I have no opinion on "Panda Bear, Panda Bear" and regret the error.

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are lots of wiggle and stretch opportunities for children in this book, so in our story time we all stood up as we opened to the first page.

Panda sees a bald eagle (everyone flap wings, being careful not to bump any friends).
Eagle sees a water buffalo (everyone run in place, as if "charging").
Buffalo sees a spider monkey (everyone wave arms as if "swinging").
Monkey sees a green sea turtle (everyone paddle flippers).
Turtle sees a macaroni penguin (everyone strut in place--Charlie Chaplin style).
Penguin sees a sea lion (everyone clap fins)
Sea lion sees a red wolf (everyone tiptoe in place as if sneaking).
Wolf sees a whooping crane (everyone stand on one leg).
Crane sees a black panther (everyone sit back down).
Panther sees the moon --which in the book is a "dreaming child"(everyone close their eyes).

[Irysnez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pandas are so cute

[debbicat *made of stardust* · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s perfect!

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 5 out of 5]

We've been reading this book every single night for the past year. It's the first book that my daughter has memorized enough to read to us! It has helped tremendously with learning about animals that have longer names. Instead of just monkey, she now knows that there are different types of monkeys. We love explaining the different habitats of each animal. This book has been lots of fun to read together and has helped us learn our colors and learn about new animals.

[Ghazaal B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Other than beautiful illustrations, these books have such sweet and unexpected endings that makes you smile and go through the whole story again. :)

[Ashley Stookey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite in our house! Simple and fun

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

7/17/2024 - Very cute book! My daughter enjoyed naming all of the animals at the end.

[Anna Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book with my Reception class during SEB as one of their core texts for the year, and the children were completely enthralled by it. The story is very repetitive, which was good for the children as they were able to join in with these parts of the story - it became really interactive for them. They also listened intently to the less repetitive parts to find out what each animal could see. This book worked really effectively as an educational text due to the wide range of vocabulary that the author uses, e.g. using words such as 'charging' and 'swinging' to describe the movements of various animals in the story. The children enjoyed being introduced to these new words and then doing their own actions to fit in with the vocabulary from the story. It was also nice to introduce this story to the children and compare it to 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?' as the children were already familiar with this story and were able to pick out some of the key similarities and differences between the texts.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic Plot: Animals in the wild.

This book was identical in structure to Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?, also by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle. Carle's colorful, distinct artwork accompanies a simple, repetitive question-response format that my little guy really loves. The only trick was getting him to say "see" instead of "hear" like he did in the other book. As before also, I wasn't terribly into it, but he was, and that's the important thing with these stories. To see him get involved with the reading, I'd happily read a dozen of these.

[Joy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish I could say I liked this book, but I rarely read it to my daughters because it is so complicated. It does not flow well at all compared to Brown Bear, Brown Bear. The names of the animals are very complicated so I think it is hard for my language-challenged daughters to follow. Also, the end is kind of preachy.

[Rachel]

We've had this one day and already read it many times

[Jamie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is Gus's favorite book in the world. I've grown to truly hate it.

[Tao Zheng · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never read this one as a kid. Was not aware of it's existence until today. Sadly, this book does not fit the rhythm of "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?" and "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you Hear?".

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ll be honest, the main thing that keeps my kids coming back to this is that we have a board book version with interactive sliding panels. They can’t get enough of that.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.75

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute offshoot from Brown Bear, Brown Bear - my 2-year-old loved it

[Theo Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who is the Brown Bear imposter?! Give me Brown Bear or nothin’!
*goes and flips through Brown Brown another ten times*

(Mama disagrees though she really likes this book and all the different animals)

[Jenna Calhoun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? written by Bill Martin Jr. and illustrated by Eric Carle has an attractive cover. There is a big panda bear which I believe would draw children to it. The end pages are colorful and are the exact same. This book is repetitive by saying, "panda bear, panda bear what do you see?" and then whatever animal he sees goes next. He saw a spider monkey, so the next page goes, "spider monkey, spider monkey, what do you see?" This would be great for children because after a few pages they will pick up on this and be able to read it with you. They will be able to know what is coming next and be excited to flip the page. The books shows many animals and what they are normally doing like a sea lion splashing, a bald eagle flying, or a sea turtle swimming. The illustrations are double spread and take up most of the pages. I would recommend this book to ages 2-4.

[Landon Rotolo-Utz · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I don't think this book is as good as its predecessor I still think this book would be loved by children. It's use of repetition will have kids reading along and acting out the animals from the pages. The illustrations are quite beautiful and done in a style that children will find appealing.

In the classroom this would be great for early learners. I'd use this in a read aloud for kindergarteners or first graders. The use of animals will engage the students and could be a perfect opportunity to have students get up and act out the animals. I would personally use it for transitions from one activity to another to get the students focused and ready for the next activity.

[Aleha Begum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children learn about ten of the world's endangered animals and the animals is portrayed in eye catching collages and the book ends with a child sleeping dreaming that one day all animals will be wild and free. The children will chant the rhythmic words; make the sounds the animals make and role play the animals. Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle are brilliant in children's education and children's illustrations and this is a great book for children in KS1 and can be used in a creative way within the curriculum e.g. cross curricular with Geography, PSHE, RE.

[SaraLaLa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is similar to Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, but a copy is never as good as the original. The writing doesn't roll off the tongue, but it's nice to see that some obscure/specific (for kids) animals are mentioned. For example: macaroni penguin (as opposed to just penguin) and whooping crane.

My husband HATES this book and refuses to read it to our daughter. She seems to be okay with hearing it, though. I don't care one way or another.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Carle and Bill Martin Jr. are the perfect pair. This is the third book written in the what do you see model and is just as good as the others. A panda spies a bald eagle who spies a water buffalo who spies a spider monkey who spies another animal all the way to a sleeping child dreaming about these animals all wild and free.

This is a good book for introducing rhyme to children.

It is also a good book to introduce the issue of endangered animals as each animal in the book is on the endangered list.

It is also a good book for talking about animals and where they live.

[Sabrina Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very much like "Brown Brown Bear What Do You See?". I liked the repetition which is easy for children to follow. I also liked the introduction of animals that are not very common. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the story line because it is very close to the original. The illustrations were awesome too.

Children usually like Eric Carle's creations, so I'll recommend one be in each classroom of young children as well as home.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

In much the same fashion that Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See includes animals, this one also includes fun animals. This book does an amazing job of using verbs that also describe how the wild animals move. While the sister book uses different colors to describe the animals, these wild animals included in this book are fairly true to nature.

I liked this book both for it's repetition and illustrations. Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle make a great team for young readers.

[Siobhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderful read from my childhood, one I’d certainly suggest for other youngsters. Whilst it is not my all-time favourite childhood read I can still recall all the details of this one meaning it certainly left a lasting impression upon my young mind.

And isn’t that what we want with children’s books, for them to leave a positive lasting impression?

[Brittany Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 18 month old likes this book even though I feel like it is Eric Carle selling out. Of course, endangered species are a great clause. But the original Brown Bear had such a rhythmical feel to it and this is tough. "Macaroni Pengiun, Macaroni Penguin What Do You Hear?" .... I mean, come on.

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a nice enough book about various animals, but it's pretty clunky to read. It doesn't have a rhyme scheme, and trying to say "macaroni penguin" twice out loud is all but a tongue twister.

[Una Sarayba · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book is a classic. Eric Carle beautifully illustrates the animals depicted by Bill Martin Jr. and allows children to see different types of wildlife animals. It is a great book for younger children, grades pre-K to 2nd grade, as the illustrations and text are both easily digestible. At first glance, it may seem as if random animals are being listed. However, upon reading the introductory note at the beginning of the book, the reader will learn that the ten featured animals depicted in the story are part of endangered or threatened wildlife species. In Perry Nodelman’s essay about decoding the images in picture books, he mentions that children are learning about how the world works and need some sort of context to decipher picture book images. This book serves as a great learning opportunity for children to learn about what it means for wildlife species to be endangered and see which species to pay attention to. The simple, rhythmic text is straightforward. Keeping the text short allows the reader to pick up on the important information: the endangered animal. This book is a fun one to read to young children and allows them to learn in an engaging way about wonderful wildlife animals that need more protection.

[Abby Hargreaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look, I'll be honest, I don't understand the appeal of Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?. The rhythm is not one that I find entertaining, there's no rhyme scheme, and the illustrations are kind of drab in color. But the reality is, kids LOVE this book. I finally conceded and read it during storytime today and got a huge response. The trick will be pretending I'm enjoying it when I'm reading it (which is usually a prerequisite for storytime -- if the reader doesn't like the book, it's a no-go -- but this is so beloved, I guess there's an exception here). For whatever reason, this one is a winner with all ages. I read it to my baby/toddler group today, but know it would be just as popular with preschoolers and even a little older. The mystery remains for me, but I can't deny it's a success where it matters.