Review by New York Times Review
FOR SOME ADULTS (including this reviewer), there are few more stressful words than "party." Just being invited to one stirs up all kinds of anxiety: Who will be there? What should I wear? Must I attend? And of course: How long am I required to stay? Children, however, have no such ambivalence. For theunder-12 set, all parties are equally wonderful. I have never met a child who expressed anything other than unalloyed enthusiasm when invited to one. They never ask who will be in attendance or what will be served. Except in the case of costume parties, sartorial questions are rarely fretted over. For a child, parties follow a predictable sequence of events: They are invited, attend, consume too much junk food, possibly vomit, return home, collapse. Oddly enough, this is exactly how adults party; yet somewhere along the way the process becomes less fun, until for many of us the idea of a party is only slightly less repellent than a trip to the oxymoronically named amusement park. But my ire toward those torturous places will have to wait for another review. Three new children's books celebrate parties, drawing different lessons from their promise. The Newbery Medal winner Linda Sue Park offers a sweet lesson on multiculturalism with "Xander's Panda Party," a gentle rhyming story in which Xander, a panda (best pronounced with a slight Brooklyn accent, as in "Xander the pander"), decides to throw a panda party, "a dandy whoop-de-do," but quickly realizes he is the only panda at the zoo. Because a party of one would not be any fun, he expands his guest list, first to all the bears at the zoo, then - quite illogically - upon learning that koala bears are actually marsupials, to all mammals, and eventually to every creature in residence. Although presents aren't exchanged at Xander's party, at book's end he does receive an unexpected surprise. The book's best present to its readers is Matt Phelan's expressive and delightful watercolors, my favorite of which is a deadpan assembly of Xander with a waddle of blank-faced penguins. Claudia Boldt's "You're a Rude Pig, Bertie!" explores the perils of the guest list from a different perspective, that of a boorish pig who has managed to offend nearly every animal in town. Bertie has never met anyone he could not insult: "Long time no see, Mrs. Breun. You look older!" is a typical greeting. Oblivious to hurt feelings, Bertie softens when he meets Ruby, "the cutest rabbit he had ever seen," and he decides to throw a huge party to impress her. Predictably, nobody shows up. Miserable, Bertie retires to bed, where he is visited in a dream by a vision of his toothbrush, which gives him a Jacob Marley-esque dressing down. Properly chastised, Bertie attempts to make amends with the townsfolk. Although a touch ham-handed, "You're a Rude Pig, Bertie!" offers young readers a lesson in the perils of porcine comportment and the power of love to change even the heart of a swine. A different sort of rascal is the star of the silly "Secret Pizza Party" Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri, the writer-illustrator pair behind the popular "Dragons Love Tacos," team up again to tell the tale of a pizza-loving raccoon's attempt to host a secret pizza party, the kind in which raccoons are considered guests of honor rather than disreputable pizza-stealing varmints. This laugh-out-loud story follows the unlucky raccoon through close calls with grumpy humans and broom-wielding robots alike. To my mind, picture books shouldn't be too educational, and readers are unlikely to learn anything from this one, though they will be reminded of the undebatable fact that pizza is among our greatest foods, and far and away the very best party food. One thing that does not change from childhood to adulthood: The best parties are pizza parties. This raccoon may not have the best table manners, but he certainly knows how to have a good time. From the whimsical to the absurd, young party animals will find much to enjoy in each of these books. Even I, as cranky a partygoer as ever there was, found myself inspired to strap on my dancing shoes after closing their final pages. These three beastly boys fight hard for their right to party, never questioning whether the effort is worth the trouble. Perhaps they believe that a good party is its own reward. It is a moral that certain adults would be well advised to take to heart. MICHAEL IAN BLACK is the author, most recently, of "You're Not Doing It Right," a memoir, and "I'm Bored," a picture book.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [September 15, 2013]
Review by Booklist Review
Xander the panda has a birthday coming up, and he wants to throw a dandy whoop-de-do! to mark the occasion. Problem: he is the only panda at the zoo, and one does not a party make. So he decides to invite Black Bear, Brown Bear, both the Polars, Grizzly, and Koala. But when Koala informs him that she is actually a marsupial, thank you very much, Xander expands the invite list to include all mammals. Of course then a bird wants in, then a gator and soon everyone is invited. When a panda from China arrives to live at the zoo, well, she is just the icing on the birthday party cake. Newbery Medalist Park's playful rhyming text introduces young kids to different species of animals, further detailed in an author's note, which also discusses China's panda research centers and the fact that, until fairly recently, the black-and-white bears were on the verge of extinction. Phelan's loose watercolor illustrations brim with energy and perfectly capture each of Xander's sweet, varied facial expressions. Share this story about the importance of inclusion with birthday kids and those fond of a trip to the zoo.--Kelley, Ann Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Phelan (Around the World) takes Park's jaunty story about a panda with a complicated social life and develops it still further. In ink-and-watercolor vignettes, he animates the many zoo creatures Xander considers inviting to his party, capturing their expressions and interactions with a few quick pen strokes. Xander begins with his bear compatriots: Black Bear, Brown Bear, the Polar Bears, and Koala. "From her tree, Koala hollered,/ 'Xander, I am not a bear.... Will I not be welcome there?' " Xander reconsiders: should he include all mammals? When he does, Rhinoceros complains that he can't bring his bird. Should he include birds, too? Eventually, of course, Xander must invite everyone, and after the arrival of an unexpected mystery guest, the attendance list expands-providing Xander with a new friend. Park (The Third Gift) is really talking about the fluidity of boundaries, and how social groupings that look solid fall apart under closer inspection. Her afterword explores symbiosis (the rhino-bird duo), taxonomic classification, and zoo exchanges-there's food for thought throughout. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. Illustrator's agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Horn Book Review
Plans for a modest fete grow increasingly tangled for Xander, the lone panda at the zoo, as his guest list expands from bears-only to include other mammals, birds, and reptiles. Liberal use of internal rhyme -- "Xander felt a little blue. He chewed bamboo, a stalk or two" -- makes Park's text sing as it relates how Xander tackles each new challenge. At first he's pragmatic. When, for instance, Koala informs him that she's not a bear but a marsupial, Xander calmly ponders the situation and decides to invite all zoo dwellers with "fur or hair or hide." But by the time the crocodile asks to slip into the mix, the panda's a wreck. Phelan's sprightly ink and watercolor illustrations show Xander spinning until he's prostrate, convinced his party will balloon out of control. Happily, a resourceful salamander steps up to help, and then a last-minute surprise guest turns the affair into a true celebration. Park's extensive author's note on pandas and other animals mentioned in the text seems like pedagogical overkill, but it does provide interesting further context for her characters. christine m. heppermann (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
As a member of a rare species, Xander the Panda runs into some evolutionary conflicts when faced with the eternal quandary of whom to invite to his party. As pandas are thin on the ground, he decides to expand the guest list to bears. This plan is upset by a bear look-alike, Koala, who turns out to be a marsupial, not a bear. Even broadening the invitation to all mammals doesn't please everyone; Rhinoceros won't come without his bird, so Xander invites all the birds. Crocodile adds to Xander's stress by insisting that reptiles, being a prehistoric bird-related species, should be invited too. The solution to Xander's dilemma comes from tiny Amanda Salamander, who suggests inviting all creatures, which (surprise) includes humans too! The party is a roaring success, and a nice girl panda shows up at the right moment to keep Xander company. Phelan's pencil-and-watercolor vignettes are imaginative and charming, making the most of the story's humorous potential. Though a solid addition to the popular category of books about inclusiveness, the tale, like Xander's party, feels a little too-hastily put together. Children who chuckle at the sight of Xander lowering an invitation into the lion's zoo enclosure may find themselves wondering how prey animals will fare at Xander's shindig, for instance. Park includes a final note about pandas and species preservation. Unquestionably warmhearted, but its emphasis on zoological facts somewhat undermines its whimsy. (Picture book. 3-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
