Please Mr Panda by Steve Antony

Please Mr Panda by Steve Antony
Buy Please Mr Panda by Steve Antony at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: For Sharing
Reviewer: Zoe Page
Summary: Mr Panda has doughnuts to give away but not everyone is worthy.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: September 2015
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-1444916652
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Mr Panda has a box of doughnuts and they look great, such bright colours against his black and white monochrome coat. Here he is approaching Mr Penguin.

Would you like a doughnut? he asks
Give me the pink one, replies Mr Penguin
No, you can not have a doughnut. I have changed my mind.

Um, ok then… It took me a while to 'get' this book. It took the Boy until I read to the end, flipped it over, and let him read the back cover blurb to get it. Have you guessed, though? Let's continue to the story. Mr Panda walks off and finds another one of his animal friends.

Would you like a doughnut? he asks
I want the blue one and the yellow one.
No, you can not have a doughnut. I have changed my mind.

This repeats itself a few more times and whether small or large, all the animals are told in no uncertain terms that they cannot, after all, have one of the doughnuts. It all seems a bit mean, especially when we learn Mr Panda himself doesn't even like doughnuts! The moral of the story eventually becomes clear: only those animals with the good manners to say please and thank you are worthy of treats. It's a fair point but as I said, it was a little lost on me for quite a lot of the story which defeated the purpose somewhat.

I'm not quite sure about this book. Don't get me wrong: any child of mine will be saying please and thank you in half a dozen languages before they're 3, and meaning it, but manners is more than just saying the 'magic words'. I think it's bad manners to offer someone something and then refuse to hand it over when they say yes, they would like it.

Mr Panda, you see, is no better than the animals he is testing. And he's a bit of a grumpy sod too, stomping off once he finally unloads the unwanted treats on someone he finally views as being worthy.

This book is told entirely through speech, with no narrative. There's also only half-hearted punctuation – full stops are in, but speech marks are omitted. The pictures are really cute, but I was disappointed by the story and delivery, especially given how much I adored some of the author's earlier works, including The Queen's Hat.

I'd like to thank the publishers for sending us a copy to review. If you're after a manners book for little ones, Please: A First Book of Manners by Patricia Hegarty and Fhiona Galloway comes recommended by our reviewer.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Please Mr Panda by Steve Antony at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Please Mr Panda by Steve Antony at Amazon.com.

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