Reviews for Let's Take Care of Our new Budgerigar

The average rating for Let's Take Care of Our new Budgerigar based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-09-08 00:00:00 Jim Wilson I loved the information in this book, much of which I didn't know. It could easily not have been a counting book, and it would have been just as good. I thought it odd that it only went up to 8, when most counting books go up at least to 10, so for me it didn't quite work as a counting book. The pictures are beautiful, especially the shots of all 16 of the pandas together. So cute! I was saddened to read in the author's note at the end that an earthquake in 2008 damaged much of the Wolong Giant Panda Breeding Center and killed a panda and several staff members. I hope they're back up and running by now! Very interesting book--and a 2010 Orbis Pictis Award honor book for outstanding nonfiction for children.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-07-16 00:00:00 Susan Cejka How Many Baby Pandas? is an informational book about the development of Giant Panda babies, through their transition to adulthood. On the first page, the book asks "How many baby pandas have just been born?" and below is a picture of a single baby panda and his mother. Below the picture, a giant "one" is printed, to state that one baby panda has just been born. On the second page, is a second picture of mother and baby, next to a description of what a newborn panda looks like, along with where a mother panda typically gives birth in the wild, as well as some ways a mother panda cares for her newborn. On the third page, the book concentrates on the number two, and on the fourth, a description of a newborn baby panda from about two months old. The book continues in this manner (number, description, number, description) through the number eight. The last question asks "How many baby pandas live wild and free?" to which the answer below reads "Not enough," and the description on the next page describes how Giant Pandas have become endangered, making it hard for the animals to find mates and reproduce. My thoughts? Pandas are very adorable creatures. They are fluffy, cuddly-looking, and cute, which is an especially common opinion of children, who are young enough to learn from the counting concept in the book, who would therefore, find this topic interesting. Writing about Giant Pandas also spreads awareness of their endangerment, so I see a win-win for the topic; pandas keep children entertained, while the audience, children, teachers and parents alike, become aware of the threat to the Giant Panda species, so A+ on the topic choice. I also believe the author, Markle, met the requirement of engaging her target audience. As mentioned above, young children love pandas, but Markle also included large photographs to keep her audience interested, which do an excellent job at quieting the young ones, as in the pictures, there seems to be so much to look at, especially those that are below the questions asking "how many baby pandas..." In these pictures, children are forced to look at the photographs to answer the question correctly, a clever move on Markle's part. I also enjoyed how much I, as an adult, learned from reading this book. Before now, I did not know much about Giant Pandas, besides how they live in China and eat bamboo, about the same information most other adults would have started reading this book with, so I think Markle's efforts to interest the adult reader did well with educating the public. I did, however, get a little bored, reading some of the descriptions. I almost feel like if the author would have decided to tell the story of a baby panda's growth in the perspective of a baby panda, the details might have been a lot more interesting, but otherwise, it felt, at certain times, like I was reading out of a textbook. So to summarize, I thought Markle's choice of topic was excellent, both for interest purposes and for awareness of the Giant Panda's endangerment, she kept the interest of young children through pictures, and she educated the public of Giant Panda babies, but I also thought she lost some points when she chose to write an informational book instead of something children can relate to and find compelling.