The Year of the Panda: A Mysterious Adventure About a Farm Boy and an Orphaned Giant Panda for Kids

by Miriam Schlein, Kam Mak (Illustrator)

Daxiong mao is rare and mysterious, like a god, living in the midst of the mountains.

Strange things are happening on Lu Yi's farm. First, some men from the Chinese government ask Lu Yi's father to sell the property that has belonged to the family for generations. Then a giant panda appears in a neighbor's field, A rare occurrence, given the farm's distance from the high-mountain bamboo forests that pandas inhabit.Lu Yi has a feeling that the two mysteries are somehow connected. And before long, an orphaned baby panda he finds in the' woods provides an answer. As the boy nurses the helpless animal back to health, he begins an adventure that may, well change his entire future.

Genres: Animals, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, China, Middle Grade, Childrens, Asia

96 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1990

About the author

Miriam Schlein was an American author who wrote nearly 100 books that helped teach children about animals and more obscure ideas such as space and time. Her books include The Year of the Panda and Discovering Dinosaur Babies. Schlein died of vasculitis in Manhattan, New York, at age 78, in 2004.

Reviews

[Rick Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy living in rural China rescues an orphaned daxiong mao -- a giant panda, and gets to experience firsthand the efforts to preserve China's most famous endangered species.

This was a straightforward and ultimately hopeful story about how helping an animal in need opens up Lu Yi's life to possibilities he had never considered. The details on the panda rescue efforts were interesting, and the character interactions all felt real.

I read this with the Kiddo, who enjoyed it very much, as he does most stories involving animal rescue and conservation.

[Dalma · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was cute! I love pandas! <3

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with my 2nd grader. I didn’t like the flow of the language, but the story was incredible! We had a good discussion about human habitation affecting animals and how they live.

[Carmen.Yuan · Rating 5 out of 5]

At the beginning of the book , Lu Yi 's family saw the panda in their's village and next day Lu Yi 's father and Lu Yi found a dead panda mother and a little panda and they take the little panda home .He names the little panda Su Lin.And everybody else wants Su Lin because the person who finds him will get a lot of money.At the end of the story Su Lin was sent to an animal sanctuary and Dr.Di said that Lu Yi can be a scientist in that animal sanctuary in the future and then he can be with Su Lin everyday.

I choose this book because first I like panda, but ,when I finished this book , I think Lu Yi is brave and kind ,he protects the little panda Su Lin and he gave the little panda lots of loves.He Treat it like a family and his dad is do the same as he .In fact,Lu Yi's family were all kind and helpful,they know that they can't keep Su Lin for whole life,so, they took Su Lin to the animal sanctuary to protect it.But they still love Su Lin so Lu Yi dream that there are one day he will work in that animal sanctuary and stay with Su Lin everyday and he fitting on this dream .And this why I like this book :I dream to work with a panda ,too . And I will give it all my love.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Lu Yi is kind because at page 24,LuYi let the little daxiongmao sleep with him on At the beginning, the government tells LuYi’s father and other people at page3, after a few days ,LuYi saw a daxiongmao had one paw was in Mr.Po’s bee hive at page 7,Mr.Po wanna to kill the daxiongmao ,than LuYi's father stopped him at page 9 .At the middle ,when LuYi and his father went carrying the woods ,they saw a died daxiongmao and a baby Xiongmao,they took the baby xiongmao home and take good care to it .They after knew that the banboos are died .Then LuYi's father said send the panda to a safe place, and the people said when LuYi finish his study , he can come there to work and take care of the panda，I like this book because I like the pictures on the book the thing that the writer write is very interesting, and I love pandas

[David Moon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The two messenger from the government came to Lu Yi's house. They asks to leave this place because this place is for the panda. They found the dead panda and the baby panda that is alive. They give the panda to the panda rescue center. Lu Yi works in the panda rescue center in the future.

I liked this story because this is the story of a panda that is being rescue by Lu Yi's family and the government.
I didn't liked Mr.Po that is Lu Yi's neighbor. When he meets the panda in the first time he wrestled with the panda and next he almost killed the panda with his shotgun.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book about a boy who rescues a baby panda, he takes care of it as well as help his family out on the farm. He soon finds out that the pandas are in trouble and he must make some hard decisions about his baby panda. Good read aloud and a good read for third graders.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

My third grade student book club just finished this book. They loved it.

[Don Gubler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice tale with an historical perspective.

[Massanutten Regional Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Julie, Central patron, June 2017, 5 stars:

This is a fun summer read-aloud for parents and children. I read it to my 9-year-old who loves pandas, and it was a sweet read. We both enjoyed the story of a boy who finds a baby panda and the reason behind it. Take some time to read with a smaller person in your life.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our family read this as part of Growing Book By Book's Family Dinner Book Club 2017. The kids enjoyed learning more about China and pandas. While I found it boring, it was perfect for my kids (ages 7, 5, 3) and provided a wonderful discussion around the dinner table.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fun read! I like the message of how we must take care of our environment if we want to live in a greater world full with animals and plants.

It was quick but with a powerful story that will make me think a lot about how we do care about the environment.

[Wasif · Rating 4 out of 5]

A boy love his land his farms and don't wanna leave them. But the government officials are forcing him and his family to leave the land. In that time some things amazing he saw a baby panda and nurses him which has changed his whole life.

[Alistair Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the story and the name of the panda. And the panda was cute.

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think young readers will enjoy this story of a boy rescuing a baby panda.

[Lindsay Vlasak]

Read for Teddy’s 3rd grade battle of the books

[Nicole Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this one with students. It wasn't great, it wasn't bad.

[Monica Gargac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book club reading for school.

[Susan Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute short book, with some authentic Chinese countryside, and real environmentalism

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read aloud. Super quick. Kids enjoyed it. We spent the evening looking up info on pandas and watching videos of pandas.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read. Upper elementary. Simple story of a boy who rescues a panda cub and realizes he may have a future outside of farming.

[Reese · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in 3rd grade

[Anne Jennen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read to son. Story about China, extinction and panda rescue efforts.

[Ryan Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read, easy and not too deep.

[Shana Shroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, quick read on how a community responds to an unexpected visitor. Great for kids interested in animals or life in China. However, there’s not much detail on where and when exactly this story took place - you will need to do that additional research on your own. Incites interesting discussion on our responsibility to our environment, wild animals and each other.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

We (a 3rd/4th grade reading group) enjoyed this book, and most of us would read it again. There was interesting conflict between the characters, especially Mr. Po and the other villagers. Mr. Po's actions put the daxiong mao (panda) in danger and also created a potential problem for others in the village. There was also conflict between the characters and their way of life which created suspense throughout the book. Will they be able to maintain their old way of life and keep their family farms? The ending was unexpected and satisfying. All of us liked knowing that the historical parts of the book were based on actual events in Chinese history. This is similar to the 'Magic Treehouse' series where you learn about history while reading about an adventure.

[Mrs. Wynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've found that most students are very interested in pandas, so this book appealed to them. The book covers the giant pandas' plight when huge stands of bamboo sometimes die off--and the relocating of pandas to other areas where food is more plentiful. I did not use the Chinese pronunciation/word for "panda," but substituted the English. Bad of me, I know...I should have looked the pronunciation up online. I would suggest pairing this book with Panda Kindergarten by Joanne Ryder and Katherine Feng.

Recommended grades 2-3

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did my first "novel study" with 2nd graders this past week, and this is the book we read. They were so into it/excited about it, which was refreshing since normally I'm used to kids dragging their feet over reading novels. I learned a lot about the danger of pandas becoming extinct and also Chinese culture through reading this book.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice simple story about a boy and his family who adopt a baby panda but learn that for the betterment of its health, it needs to move to Wolong Rescue Center for pandas. The boy and his family must give up their pet so his panda can grow up healthy and be with other protected pandas. A very easy book to use with beginning chapter book readers.