The Legend of the Panda [Paperback]

Linda Granfield (Author), Song Nan Zhang (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

A timeless tale about a beloved animal

One of the world’s most beloved and reclusive animals, the panda is almost as mysterious today as it was thousands of years ago. The original Chinese folk tale of how the panda came to have its distinctive black-and-white coat is a story of love, bravery and the sacrifice of a young shepherdess. Illustrator Song Nan Zhang has drawn upon his experiences touring the silk road region of Tibet to create the gloriously colourful illustrations that depict the ancient Wolong Valley in Sichuan province. As retold by master historian Linda Granfield, The Legend of the Panda is augmented with fascinating information about panda bears and the efforts to save them. A book as beautiful as it is informative.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-Long ago, in a valley deep in the mountains of China's Sichuan province, a young shepherdess welcomed a white, bearlike cub into her flock, calling him Beishung, or "white bear," (not translated in the text). While trying to save the little creature from a snow leopard, the shepherdess was killed by the ferocious predator. Mourning her death, Beishung and his weeping relatives dipped their paws into ashes, rubbed their eyes, and hugged themselves, turning patches of their white fur black. To this day, these pandas bear the same markings of mourning for the brave young woman. Zhang depicts the action against a breathtaking landscape of mountain and forest; his sure hand for composition, color, and dramatic interpretation carry what is, for all its good intentions, a slight and sentimental story. A two-page note summarizes the pandas' natural history while explaining their place in human history. It conspicuously omits a source for the legend, and the story cannot be found in major collections of Chinese folklore. Since spurious legends fabricated in the West so often pass as authentic Chinese stories, it is unfortunate that the historian who wrote the text gave no clue to the tale's origins. This omission undercuts the book's integrity as a plea to save the endearing symbol of the World Wildlife Fund.
Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

A timeless tale about a beloved animal

One of the world's most beloved and reclusive animals, the panda is almost as mysterious today as it was thousands of years ago. The original Chinese folk tale of how the panda came to have its distinctive black-and-white coat is a story of love, bravery and the sacrifice of a young shepherdess. Illustrator Song Nan Zhang has drawn upon his experiences touring the silk road region of Tibet to create the gloriously colourful illustrations that depict the ancient Wolong Valley in Sichuan province. As retold by master historian Linda Granfield, The Legend of the Panda is augmented with fascinating information about panda bears and the efforts to save them. A book as beautiful as it is informative.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 24 pages
• Publisher: Tundra Books (June 5, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0887764746
• ISBN-13: 978-0887764745
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.1 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,126,708 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pandas and Sichuan province, August 9, 2004

By 

KSL "emma-and-me" (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Legend of the Panda (Paperback)

I am building a library for my daughter who was born in China and I am so pleased to have found this book. The story is about about a girl named Dolma who lives in the Wolong mountains with her 4 sisters in Sichuan province. During the day Dolma tends to her sheep and also collects herbs & flowers for the villagers. One day a white cub came and from that day on stays among her flock. One day while gathering flowers she comes back to her flock and notices a snow leopard who is attacking the white cub. And so Dolma comes to the rescue of the hurt white cub and in the end defends her flock and is killed doing so. The villiagers, Dolma's sisters and the white cubs all morn her death. The sisters all want to join their sister in death and the mountains open up and take all 4 sisters to their sister.

I love the illistrations of this book and that is retold from a Chinese legend. I think it will be a while before I read this book to my daughter. Especially if your daughter or son is born in the province of Sichuan, PRC.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a must for panda lovers, October 4, 2005

By 

C. Krantz "love to reader" (Elgin, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Legend of the Panda (Paperback)

This is a great book telling the story of how the panda became black and white. Like I said it's a must for panda lovers.