How Many Baby Pandas?

Markle, S. (2009). How many baby pandas?. New York: Walker & Co.

Sandra Markel’s, “How many baby panda’s?” was a 2010 NCTE’s Orbis picture Award Honor Book. The purpose of this photo essay book is to inform the reader about the baby panda’s life at each stage. The photography in this book is realistic, vivid, and really gives the viewer an inside look at what life is really like for baby pandas. I especially enjoyed seeing the hairless baby panda that the author describes as being the size of a hot dog. This book is also interesting because it shows the life of a panda being raised by its mother and pandas being raised in a breeding center. Seeing the mother carry the newborn in her mouth, or licking the cubs head to clean it would really make kids understand the similarities and differences between human life and panda life. It was very evident that the mamma panda was a nurturer and really tended to the cubs. The photo essay book also showed baby pandas holding bottles at the breeding center. I enjoyed the comparison and the facts that were included such as, cubs need their mother’s milk for 18 months. “How many baby panda’s?” is also used to help children count. On each page the top subtitle ask how many pandas are on the page. Each time you turn the page the number increases. This is a neat way to allow children to learn about pandas while working on their counting. The book takes an interesting spin on the last pages, as the author asks, “how many pandas?”, and there is only one panda. The author responds, “Not enough.”  This is when the author begins to discuss the problems that the pandas face such as the rainforest being destroyed in China. Although Markle describes the problem of endangerment, she also tells the solution which is that the Chinese government stopped allowing people to live in the rainforest or cut down trees. Another solution to the problem is the help of panda breeding centers to help raise the giant panda cubs in order to release them into the forest when they are young pandas.

                The books dust jacket has a photo of baby pandas crowding on a tree limb. This is a very appealing cover for children who are interested in books on animals. The front flap on the dust jacket gives information about the pandas and the author. This is a great feature because the reader is able to learn the specifics of where the pandas were located, which is at Wolong Giant Panda Breeding Center. There are also details about the author Sandra Markle whom is an award-winning science writer. This allowed me to know that the writer is a credible source.  The writing was very clear and understandable and no personification was used. The author presents the work from simple to complex. At first she discusses the babies eating and playing, and then she discusses more serious issues such as breeding and the serious problem of the giant panda becoming endangered. At the end of the essay book the author provides a bulleted list with panda paws as the bullets. The list is titled Giant Pandas Are Cool! The last pages have a glossary and index and information about the Wonlong Giant Panda Breeding Center.

                This book would be great for an elementary classroom. Students could use this as a source to write an informative paper on giant panda bears. Teachers could use this as a hook to a lesson about endangered species and the depletion of the rainforests. This could also be used in a geography classroom because of the map provided at the end that shows where giant panda’s live. This is a great book to use because it is not a difficult read and provides specifics about the panda’s life and how they eat, sleep, and play. I could see this being the book that students fight for in a classroom library.

Big Idea Questions: How are panda’s and human’s alike and different?

If you could speak on behalf of the baby pandas what would you tell the people who participate in deforestation?