Featuring Jing Jing, mascot of the Beijing Olympics.

This is a very interesting book with excellent pictures of everything it talks about. It talks about how pandas start out as a tiny little cub and grow into a huge panda. It goes through the steps of the panda growing and solves the mystery of how the baby cub turns into something much bigger. It also gives a lot of interesting facts, there is also a glossary, more for kids, if you are not sure what something is. ( )

Panda by Fleur Star

No getting around it, pandas are adorable! Saving this endangered species has garnered world-wide attention, but no more so than in China where pandas live in a few mountain ranges of that country. This DK book, which is part of the “Watch Me Grow” series, takes the reader on a photographic timeline journey through the life of a panda named Jing Jing, who became the mascot of the Beijing Olympics. She was born in the Chengdu Research Base in China where they work to save the panda through conservation by breeding and providing both a habitat and continuous care to engender population growth. The informative pages feature three font sizes. The largest font, meant for beginning readers, is mostly written in first person as if Jing Jing is speaking about herself, her home, her mom and her activities as she grows older. The next smaller font gives factual information which is written in first person on some pages and third person on others. The smallest font is generally contained in fact boxes. The last pages describe the panda conservation program at the research base in very clear language. Children will not be able to resist lingering over the stunning photographs and text that are purposefully placed on each page. A table of contents, glossary, and acknowledgement of the photographs are provided. The authority of the author is not noted but the Director of Conservation Education of the Chengdu Research Base is listed as a consultant along with an active website. While on two of the pages the words are slightly buried in the gutter, it does not detract from the overall presentation of the book. Panda lovers will want to be first in line to check out the story of Jing Jing. This book is highly recommended for children K-3 for individual or one on one reading. Older children could use it for beginning research projects. ( )