Three Pandas

by Jan Wahl, Naava (Illustrator)

Yip, Yap, and Yep are three pandas. One day they decide to leave the forest and see the world. "There are apples and berries and eggs to eat," says Yep. "There are cities and things to do," says Yap. So the pandas take a train to the city. There, they ride a bicycle in the circus and play music in the street. But when the snows come, the city begins to lose its allure for three cold pandas. And when they became separated by the crowd, they long for the safety of their bamboo forest. By turns, funny and poignant, Jan Wahl's tale of pandas who long to see the world is exquisitely illustrated by Naava.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2000

About the author

Jan Wahl was an American author best known for his imaginative and influential children’s books, which combined wit, warmth and a deep respect for young readers. Born in Columbus, Ohio, Wahl showed artistic promise early, performing piano on children’s radio programs and appearing on stage alongside legendary magician Harry Blackstone Sr. He studied at Cornell University, where he took classes with Vladimir Nabokov, and continued his education in Europe as a Fulbright scholar before completing graduate studies in the United States.
Wahl began publishing children’s books in the mid-1960s and quickly became a prolific and celebrated voice in the field, ultimately writing more than 120 works. Titles such as Pleasant Fieldmouse, The Furious Flycycle and Humphrey’s Bear earned him a devoted readership and critical acclaim. His stories were frequently illustrated by major artists, including Edward Gorey, Maurice Sendak and Mercer Mayer, and were praised for their playful tone, emotional intelligence and sense of empowerment.
Beyond writing, Wahl led an unusually rich cultural life, working with filmmakers, writers and artists, lecturing widely on film history and literature, and maintaining close ties to both the literary and cinematic worlds.

Reviews

[Chad Seevers · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was an ok book. there are lots of stories just like this. the fact that it was pandas made it a bit better though. this is a book that you would give a shy kid in class so that they wouldn't feel bad if they were having trouble making friends.

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

So strange and not in a good way.

[Barb Middleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Normally, I love Jan Wahl, but this story meanders. At first I thought it was going to be about facts on Pandas, but then they go into the city and pretend they are humans getting jobs. The jobs don't work out and the pandas become street musicians. There is a folktale about how they got their black markings. The humans are tolerant of the pandas on the train but it goes downhill from there and they regard them more of a nuisance. The pandas decide they don't like the city (duh) and go back to the forest. The artwork is flat and the characters look alike.

[Kimberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

What? What is this even supposed to be? There is absolutely no point to this story at all. This book is awful. Also, in my edition there was an error on page 20.

I cannot for the life of me figure out how this book got published. It's so, so strange.