Little Panda: The World Welcomes Hua Mei at the San Diego Zoo

This book with its beautiful real-life illustrations would be a great one to give a child as a gift. It would acquaint him or her with the life process of a baby panda's first year. The words and sentences are short and readable for a child in the early grades. It would also be a good read-aloud book for someone with a small child who loves to be read to. I highly recommend it.

My daughter is panda-crazy, so we purchased this book as a Christmas present. It was everything we hoped it would be: nice overview of panda development leveled for kindergarten/first grade readers. It has straighforward text for younger readers, coupled with more detailed information for older readers. With my 3 year old son, we read the straight text; with my 5 year old daughter we read the little detail blurbs as well. It has lovely photos and since it deals with a baby panda it was a huge hit with my kids. I would recommend this to anyone with kids who love pandas, or anyone looking to add science/nature books to their pre-school/kindergarten collection. Additionally, I would recommend Emperor's Egg, which deals in a similar way with penguins, although it uses illustrations rather than photos.

The photos in this book are absolutely amazing! Starting with Hua Mei's 1st teeny tiny black & white photo camera that had been installed inside the panda den, and the book ending 1 year later. I can't say enough about the photos! This is the 1st year in the life of Hua Mei and is pronounced Hwa May. In China, one name can mean different thing and Hua Mei's means Splended Beauty AND China-USA. The birth of Hua Mei in 1999 in the San Diego Zoo connects both China, the country where pandas roam and here in the Us where she lives. This is one of those books that grows with it's young reader! The author Joanne Ryder lots of information on each page. There is a big bold font that tells the story and then a smaller not so small font that gives additional information! I just can not say enought wonderful words about this book! A definate book to have in your home library!