Xander's Panda Party

Xander's Panda Party

Xander planned a panda party. Yes, a dandy whoop-de-do!
But Xander was the only panda. Just one panda at the zoo.

The zoo's lack of pandas doesn't impede Xander's party planning for long. He decides to invite all the bears. But Koala protests.

From her tree, Koala uttered, -Xander, I am not a bear.'
Xander didn't understand her. -Koala Bear, you're not a bear?'
He stared at her with consternation.
-Sorry for the complication. I know I'm called Koala Bear, but I am not a bear, I swear. I am a marsupial. Marsupials – we're rather rare. Will I not be welcome there?

Xander rethinks his decision to invite only bears, and -Calling all bears' evolves into -Calling all creatures'.
The Newbery Medal author Linda Sue Park introduces animal taxonomy in a wonderfully engaging way, and the celebrated artist Matt Phelan's charming ink and watercolor paintings are the icing on the cake.

It's a read-aloud whoop-de-do!

Linda Sue Park's books for young readers include picture books, poetry and novels, among them the Newbery Medal winner A Single Shard. She likes to give parties and also enjoys watching pandas. She and her husband have two children and live in Rochester, New York.


Matt Phelan lives a short distance from the Philadelphia Zoo. He has had fun drawing pictures for a living since 2004. His illustrations appear in numerous picture books, some of which he also wrote.


Xander's Panda Party
UQP
Author: Linda Sue Park
Illustrator: Matt Phelan
ISBN: 9780702249983

RRP: $19.95

Interview with Linda Sue Park

Question: What inspired the story of Xander's Panda Party?

Linda Sue Park: Years ago, when my son was a child, he loved pandas - read about them, wrote a school report, collected all kinds of stuffed pandas and panda trinkets. I wanted to write a panda story for him, but couldn't come up with a good idea. Finally, a first line came to me: "Xander planned a panda party." But it took another five or six years before I had a story to go with that first line All told, it took me so long to write this story that the book has come out just in time to celebrate the birth of my son's son!


Question: What do you hope young readers take from Xander's Panda Party?

Linda Sue Park: First and foremost, I want the story to engage and entertain them. I especially hope that they'll enjoy Matt Phelan's terrific illustrations.

The book might serve as a jumping-off point for young readers to learn more about animals and animal classification. It can also help them think about inclusion and open-mindedness... but I hope this happens subliminally. The book isn't meant to be a heavy-handed lesson-it's meant to be fun!


Question: What role did books like Xander's Panda Party, play in your childhood?

Linda Sue Park: As a child I was a voracious reader (still am...), so of course picture books were a vital part of my world. And I love rhyming picture books. I began my writing life as a poet, so even when I'm writing fiction, the discipline that poetry imposes is always with me. The first few drafts of Xander's story weren't written in rhyme, but as I continued to revise, I found that rhyme and rhythm really seemed to fit well.


Question: Do you remember one of your first favourite books?

Linda Sue Park: I remember lots of them! On my website, www.lindasuepark.com, there's a link called "Reading", and if you scroll down you can read a list of several of my childhood favourites.

Question: What challenges you most when writing books for young readers?

Linda Sue Park: I don't consider the act of writing books for young readers any different from writing for adults; the difference lies in subject matter. For me the greatest challenge is always having something worthwhile to say. The fun part is figuring out how to say it.


Interview by Brooke Hunter