Big Panda, Little Panda

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Little Panda is the centre of his universe. At first it is a small
universe, with only him and his mum in co-orbit. Suddenly, a new panda
is born and Little Panda is promoted to Big Panda. Big Panda soon finds
that the new Little Panda takes up all of his mum’s time and
attention. Eventually Mum Panda realizes that she has been neglecting
her eldest. The Panda family goes for a day in the country, and somehow
everything falls into place.

This book is less a tale of a little panda learning to adjust to
sibling rivalry than a parable about the drudgery of being a single
parent. Mother Panda, knowing that she is being unfair to her eldest,
drives herself even harder to make up for the difference but, in the
end, just does not have the strength. Big Panda eventually takes over
for the missing parent. This is perhaps true to life, but I do not think
it was quite what author Joan Stimson intended.

Meg Rutherford’s illustrations are uncompromisingly beautiful but, in
places, hard to take. For example, halfway through the story Big Panda
accidentally cuts himself on some pottery shards. As he runs to his
mother, blood streams from his little paws. Mum Panda takes it in
stride. Human readers possibly will not. Not recommended (especially not
for parents).