A panda with a tray of deliciously bright doughnuts wanders between a cast of monochrome animal characters asking each in turn “Would you like a doughnut?” If Mr. Panda looks a little morose, that might be because he encounters ingratitude, entitlement, and plain rudeness. Only the polite manners of ringtail lemur, familiar with his pleases and thank yous are rewarded. What is particularly marvellous about this book is that it gives children the room to think about the lesson it is conveying. The ‘because’ is not in the print, but in the discussion between reader and child. I think that the message is all the more effective because of that. Another gloriously bold and engaging book, Steve Antony’s work is not to be missed. What I loved most about The Queen’s Hat was his clever use of colour, and in Betty Goes Bananas, it was the emotionally expressive central character. In Please Mr. Panda these two elements combine, together with an important lesson, to make this my favourite of his books so far.

A panda with a tray of deliciously bright doughnuts wanders between a cast of monochrome animal characters asking each in turn “Would you like a doughnut?” If Mr. Panda looks a little morose, that might be because he encounters ingratitude, entitlement, and plain rudeness. Only the polite manners of ringtail lemur, familiar with his pleases and thank yous are rewarded. What is particularly marvellous about this book is that it gives children the room to think about the lesson it is conveying. The ‘because’ is not in the print, but in the discussion between reader and child. I think that the message is all the more effective because of that. Another gloriously bold and engaging book, Steve Antony’s work is not to be missed. What I loved most about The Queen’s Hat was his clever use of colour, and in Betty Goes Bananas, it was the emotionally expressive central character. In Please Mr. Panda these two elements combine, together with an important lesson, to make this my favourite of his books so far.