A Picture Book a Day for a Year: Day 278

Picture Book: Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?

Author: Bill Martin Jr.

Illustrator: Eric Carle

Summary: What Panda Bear sees is a “bald eagle soaring by me.” The next page asks, “Bald Eagle, Bald Eagle, What do you see?” In like fashion and in delightful rhyme and meter, each animal sees a different species. A black panther sees “a dreaming child watching over me.” This child, who might be interpreted as the moon or our best hope for the future, lists all of the animals that have been seen in progression. The book ends with “all wild and free – that’s what I see.”

Hanna’s Comments:  This board book is the most recent in the Brown Bear and Friends series. The first book, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, was published in 1967. The author and illustrator have given this book a conservation emphasis by using only endangered species. The other 2 books are:
Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? (North American animals)

Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear? (zoo animals)

Each of these books celebrate God’s diverse creativity as demonstrated in the animal kingdom. How might this book encourage a theological or spiritual experience with toddlers and preschoolers? After reading the book to a small group, go back through Eric Carle’s gorgeous tissue paper animals and talk about how God created each beautiful animal to have different and specific attributes to survive. For instance, “Look at this spider monkey’s long arms and legs. God gave those to the spider monkey so that swinging from tree limbs is easy as can be.” You may have to do a little research about each species, but that can be easily done on the internet. At the end, be sure to talk about human bodies and how they too are beautiful and different and how they allow your young children to do amazing things.

Publisher & Date of Publication: Henry Holt & Company, 2006

Age & Grade Appropriateness: 2 and up, Toddler and up

# of Pages: 26

Available in Spanish? Yes

Formats other than Book: Audio download, Audio CD (of all 4 books listed above), video on Youtube.com, There is also a board game available based on this and the first book in the series.

PBT Category: Post 2K

PBT Topics this Book Connects with: abilities, abundance/bounty, animals, attentiveness/observation/seeing, awe, babies/children, beauty, care of creation, creation, differences, diversity, Earth/world, the environment/nature, God’s care/providence, moon/space/stars/sun, variety

Scripture Connections: God created every living creature (Genesis 1:21); who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth (Job 35:11); the Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that God has made (Psalm 145:9); whoever is righteous has regard for the life of beasts (Proverbs 12:10)

Idea(s) for Application: Read this book to a group of young children as described above in my comments emphasizing God’s diverse and ingenious creativity.