Mr. Panda series is Mia’s recent favorite.We got hooked starting with Good Night, Mr. Panda. Steve’s illustration style is characterized by bold lines, large color blocks, no shadows, and simple themes. The main character Mr. Panda always looks adorably sleepy.The Mr. Panda series focuses on “etiquette” rather than storytelling.I have basically borrowed all the Chinese and English versions available at the Vancouver library.
All the picture books opened up allow Mia to flip through them, giving parents a 10-minute breather. This series has a Chinese version published by the China Youth Publishing House.
1.Good Night, Mr. Panda Goodreads: 3.62/665 ratingsGood Night, Mr. Panda mainly talks about bedtime etiquette: brushing teeth, taking a bath, putting on pajamas, and most importantly, saying “good night.” The ending is quite funny, as Mr. Panda rushes to sleep but ends up in the wrong bed. Mr. Panda’s good friend is Lemur.
2.Please, Mr. Panda Goodreads: 3.91/3,346 ratingsPlease, Mr. Panda tells the story of Mr. Panda delivering macarons to his friends, but those who do not say “Please” do not receive any macarons.This is the book that taught me the most; after reading it, I realized that my English spoken in Canada over the past two years has been quite impolite.Coming from a small town, I had no good English environment before university. Everything was exam-oriented, and no one taught me that in real English conversations, you should say “Please” often.If someone asks, “Do you want a bag?” a polite response should be “Yes, Please.” instead of just saying “Yes”.In the Chinese context, we don’t often use the word ‘please’. For example, when I go to a bun shop in the morning, the owner asks me: What do you want? I would never say: “Please give me a meat bun.” When ordering coffee, I wouldn’t say: “Please give me a latte.” That would sound very strange, and I haven’t heard anyone say that in Chinese.I would just say “A latte, thank you.” Translated directly, it becomes “A tall Latte, Thank you!” This is quite awkward.In the English context, this “thank you” actually means “Please”.
Similarly, when ordering at Starbucks, it should be: “Can I have a hot grande Latte, Please?“
I noticed many people saying “Please” while waiting in line, but I didn’t apply it to myself until this book broke that barrier for me.
3.I’ll Wait, Mr. Panda Goodreads: 3.95/1,462 ratingsI’ll Wait, Mr. Panda is the highest-rated book in the series, discussing “delayed gratification”. The impatient animals do not get what they want, and different animals have different reasons. The penguin waits until the end and gets a big donut.This series mainly recommends these three books; the remaining ones, Thank You, Mr. Panda and We Love You, Mr. Panda, might not be as enjoyable due to my lack of understanding of British humor.
- Article layout: Ge Zhongran (search for the same name online, welcome to follow)
- Cover image: Midjourney & Jun
- Text proofreading: GPT
- Cards used: 1/4a6 – Picture book Please, Mr. Panda, 1/4a6a – Picture book Good Night, Mr. Panda Please is important; otherwise, it is impolite to speak.
