The Only Lonely Panda

What a truly beautiful story. Capturing me from the offset with its original and unique illustrations, I knew that this story would be a firm favourite on the bookshelf. The Only lonely Panda tells the tale of a Panda who has no friends and begins to feel lonely, so he sets off on a journey to find a friend, except that he doesn't know how. And so, he asks the other animals, getting advice from the flamingos who tell him to dance, the sifakas who tell him to bounce and a bird that tells him to stomp. When all of these fail, will Panda ever find a friend? The author/illustrator Jonny Lambert has created a lovely story with a delightful character and writes in such as way as to create sympathy towards his character; an emotion critical in a young person's development. The language is superb, ranging from exciting verbs &'stomp...strut' and creative adjectives 'if I had a dazzling tail...' with emphasis capitalised on key words for readers to stretch their words. Alongside the gorgeous narrative, the illuminating illustrations are what make this story unique and a pleasure to read. The colours are embossed and appear to shimmer on the page making the story come alive. My daughter loved tracing her fingers over the top of the images as we were reading; she was completely engrossed in the detail. This is already my favourite story to read with my young children at any time of the day, I will definitely be recommending it! Picture book / Ages 3+ / Reviewed by Joanna Hewish, teacher.

Suggested Reading Age 3+