Two Shy Pandas

A book to read when loneliness is an issue, or shyness. Panda, at number 2 Bamboo Gardens lives next door to Pandora, and so admires her, but from afar. Pandora similarly knows the limitations of playing on her own. Not until snow falls and Panda goes outside to make snowballs does he pluck up courage to throw a snowball over into Pandora’s garden. Getting no response, he is brave and caring enough to investigate further. How will she feel? The resolution has the two main characters, who both suffered from loneliness and shyness, ‘Close together. (They) agreed to be friends for ever and ever!’ The illustrator, famous for her bestseller, Badger’s Parting Gifts, portrays each character with great empathy, and as the author’s rhyming verses move the story on, we readers long for the two pandas to get together. It takes two to tango! An endearing, amusing tale.