Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Two Shy Pandas
Illustrator: Susan Varley
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Andersen Press USA, 2013 ISBN: 978-1467711418
Panda lives at Number 1 Bamboo Gardens, and Pandora lives in the house next door at Number 2 Bamboo Gardens. Panda would love to play with Pandora but he is so shy that he cannot seem to summon up the courage to talk to her. In fact his shyness is so extreme that he runs away when he sees her.
Pandora would love to have someone to play with. After all, it isn’t much fun playing ball alone, or racing trucks on a track alone. Pandora sees Panda playing in the yard next door and she wishes she could join him, but when Panda looks at her, shy Pandora hides in the laundry hamper.
Then one snowy day Panda starts making snowballs and he dares to throw one of the balls over the fence into Pandora’s yard. Carefully he peeps over the fence to see how Pandora reacts, and he finds out that she is not there, which is very unusual, especially on a snowy day. Who can resist playing in the snow? Meanwhile, at Pandora’s house, Pandora is worrying about Panda. She hasn’t seen him in ages. What if something is wrong?
Making friends when you are shy can be very hard. In fact it can be quite nerve wracking. In this charming picture book we see how two little panda children, both who are shy, try to summon up the courage to reach out to one another. Sometimes the only way to make your life better is to take a risk that scares you.
