This blog is intended for people who have already read Please Mr Panda, so here's a big SPOILER ALERT! Firstly though, as you may or may not know, there are now seven books in the Mr Panda Series, and it’s been optioned for TV (so look out for a new Mr Panda cartoon series plus toys). Below are all the Mr Panda books, which you can purchase from just about any bookstore, along the MR PANDA toy which you can buy here: https://www.steveantony.com/blog/2020/7/14/mr-panda-plush
For convenience, and because the books are published all over the world, here are a couple of Amazon links.
Aside from being a sneaky lesson in manners, 'Please Mr Panda' is a guessing game. Why does Mr Panda appear to be teasing the animals by retracting his offer of colourful doughnuts? Hint: THE CLUE IS IN THE TITLE.
Mr Panda steps into the book and asks Penguin, "Would you like a doughnut?" Penguin responds, "Give me the pink one."
At events, before I reveal whether or not Penguin (Skunk or Whale) receive a tasty treat from Mr Panda, I ask the audience to raise their hands if they think the animal WILL get a doughnut. Then I ask them to raise their hands if they think the animal will NOT get a doughnut.
The following page prompts my next question: "Why didn't Mr Panda give Penguin (Skunk or Whale) a doughnut?" This elicits all sorts of creative responses.
It is because he wants them all for himself.
It is because he wants some alone time.
It is because the skunk smells.
It is because he is very, very hungry.
And at least one child will say something along the lines of, "It is because Penguin was not polite."
We carry on witnessing and questioning Mr Panda's retractions until we reach a page where Mr Panda asks the reader, "Would anyone else like a doughnut?" At events, this is always met with a resounding "Yes, please!" from the audience. By now, most of them have figured it out.
Then Lemur pops into the book upside-down and asks Mr Panda very politely, "May I have a doughnut, Please Mr Panda?"
"Raise your hand if you think Lemur will get a donut.", I ask the audience. Almost everyone raises their hand.
Lemur doesn't just get a doughnut. He gets all of the doughnuts.
"Thank you very much. I love doughnuts." he gleefully announces.
At this final point of the story, I ask the audience why Lemur was rewarded. Almost every hand is raised.
"It is because Lemur said..." and the audience finish my sentence with a big smiley "PLEASE!"
I won't give away Mr Panda's final statement of the book, or as Times reviewer, Alex O'Connell, puts it, "the jam in the middle of the doughnut."
This, in itself, could potentially spark a fun conversation.
This is just a simple illustration of how you can use the book in your class, but please do check out my Activities Page for lesson tips and fun activities for the class, and there’s my Printables Page, too.
You can see inside art from all of my Mr Panda books, plus ‘to buy’ links, HERE.
And below are all of my other books which, again, you can purchase on Amazon or Barnes and Nobles, Waterstones, indie stores or wherever you like, or you can borrow them from the library!
To see more information on each book, plus the insides, please visit my Books page.