The Adventures of Penguin and Panda: Surprise! - Brenda Maier - ★★★.¾

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AUTHOR: Brenda Maier
ILLUSTRATOR: Fanni Mézes
SERIES: The Adventures of Penguin and Panda, #1
GENRE: Children's Graphic Novel.
PUBLICATION DATE: April 30, 2024
RATING: 3.75 stars.

In a Nutshell: The first standalone graphic novel in the Penguin and Panda series. Loveable main characters, sweet stories with good learnings. A nice option for beginner readers.


This graphic novel is about two best friends and their adventures together. The book contains four little stories with the two main characters. As the tagline indicates, all four stories have some element of surprise, whether through a game or an outing or a party.

While the stories themselves are entertaining, I also liked how they teach important values without shoving them into children’s faces. Subtle behavioural tactics such as listening to your friend or doing nice things for others unconditionally come out better through examples than advice.

Panda and Penguin make for a loveable duo. Panda is too easygoing while Penguin is slightly more fussy about her needs. This makes their friendship a mutually beneficial one, as they each learn from the other.
 
This book also contains some fun penguin and panda related jokes, a how to draw section, and some fun facts about the two animals.
 
All in all, this is a good option for little ones who enjoy comic-style stories with loveable characters. The life lessons are a bonus.
 
This is the first book in the ‘Adventures of Penguin and Panda’ series, but the books are standalone and can be read in any order.
 
My thanks to Marble Press for allowing access to the DRC of “The Adventures of Penguin and Panda: Surprise!” via Edelweiss+. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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