Review Detail

THE ADVENTURES OF PENGUIN AND PANDA: FUN AND GAMES! is a delightful early graphic novel about friendship. Penguin and Panda are the best of friends, even if it sometimes seems like they have nothing in common. In the first story, they consider what they have alike and different - which turns out to be a matter of perspective. The rest of the stories continue in this sweet vein as Penguin and Panda work through problems together, even when Panda accidentally breaks Penguin's bike and Penguin accidentally spends all her tickets at the carnival.

What I loved: This book is full of great themes and messages about friendship, teamwork, and keeping a positive mindset. The story is told through simple panels and dialogue. When dialogue bubbles may be a bit confusing, they are colored for the two friends to help keep them easy to follow. The text itself includes a lot of sight words and other simple phrases without contractions to help early readers to begin to read this independently. Being broken into chapters/stories also works well for this, as children could set this down easily between if they need a break.

The illustrations are colorful and expressive, giving plenty of context clues to help readers continue to move through the book. The backgrounds give plenty of details to keep young ones engaged. Combined with the themes of the stories, this will work well for elementary school readers of all ages.

Final verdict: THE ADVENTURES OF PENGUIN AND PANDA: FUN AND GAMES! is a delightful early graphic novel that brings together easy to follow panels, colorful images, and thoughtful themes. This will be a hit with young elementary schoolers who are beginning to read independently!