Giant Pandas

Scholastic Reader

by AnnMarie Anderson

Learn all about Pandas in this new Level 2 reader. A new Scholastic level 2 reader about cuddly, adorable what do they eat? What are their habitats like? What does it mean when we say pandas are an endangered species? Includes full color photographs and easy-to-read text.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction

32 pages, Paperback

Published June 28, 2016

Reviews

[Yiyu Guo · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 2nd graders have been working on reading non-fiction. The book used real pictures as illustrations to support the informational text for the readers. Especially pictures such as panda teeth, panda claws, the comparison of the amount of food pandas eat with pints of ice cream, and comparing the sound pandas make to baby goats. Those lovely pictures will raise the interest for children to read the whole book.

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julianna read this book to me
2nd level book. Not an easy read bit she did well. She gives it 4 stars. She liked that the baby pandas were cute. She also likes the big pandas a little too.

[Ian McHugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of interesting stuff in here about pandas. 🐼 Flo likes the baby pandas and learning about China 🇨🇳 where the pandas live.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

We both learned some new facts. Also had to laugh as Linc kept reading 'bamboo' as 'baboon' - so I was like "chunk it out" BAM- BOO! So we now joke that Bamboo is a superhero plant. :)

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

My granddaughters loved this book!

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geared towards young readers who are ready for new vocabulary and longer sentences, Giant Pandas provides a serviceable introduction to the formerly endangered giant pandas, including what they eat, where they live, comparisons to other bears, and the conservation efforts being taken to protect the species. The recent downgrade of the species from Endangered to Vulnerable in September 2016 unfortunately makes this title's opening assertion that "Giant Pandas are special animals. They are endangered" slightly inaccurate, though the fact that there are fewer than 2,500 giant pandas living today remains a true statistic. That small quibble aside, the full-color photography, paired with easy to read text and fact circles, provides a good dose of factual information about the Giant Panda. Harder to understand and pronounce words not only appear in the glossary, but also on the page that they are used, highlighted in a bold font and accompanied by a pronunciation guide and definition. A small illustrated panda appears throughout the text to highlight and further illustrate certain facts. such as what 40 lbs of ice cream looks like. At the end, there feels like a missed opportunity to provide actual website links to panda cams, rather than just mentioning that they exist (though a quick Google search for "panda cam" should do the trick). Not a bad choice for a $4 paperback on a cute and popular animal.

[Sunah Chung · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an informational picture book, Giant Pandas describes features of giant pandas such as foods, habitats, and breeding. It gives an opportunity for readers to have basic information on the animal. New and challenging words such as "hibernation" and "mammals" are in bold with definitions that allow readers to acknowledge those words. The glossary and index are provided at the end of the book. The interesting features of the book is, unlike other series in Scholastic level 2 readers, it does not have the table of contents. Overall, I think this book will be interesting to young readers.

[Teresa Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps other reviews have been only a few stars for this book because the information is simple and limited. But that is how a Level 2 reader should be. This is for students just learning to read not high-level readers. The few facts are fun and interesting. Did you know that Pandas bleat like baby goats? This book is perfect for young students who are trying out nonfiction.

[Keri Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great text features.

[Becca Barrett]

Informational book about pandas.