Queen Panda Can't Sleep - Hardcover

Isern, Susanna

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1635920957 ISBN 13: 9781635920956

Publisher: StarBerry Books ― Kane Press, 2018

Synopsis

Queen Panda hasn't been able to sleep for days. Her subjects are worried and exhausted from serving her day and night. Something must be done!  As news spreads throughout the kingdom that a reward will be given to whoever can make the Queen sleep, animals from faraway places rush to the palace to try their luck. Who will find the magic solution to Queen Panda's problem?

Bright illustrations bring together animals from all over the world in this humorous and clever bedtime story.

StarBerry Books, an imprint of Kane Press, is a library full of diverse and imaginative children's books created by authors and artists from all over the globe. "Read Your Way Around the World!"

About this title

About the Author:

Susanna Isern is a psychology professor and picture book author who lives in Spain.

Illustrator Mariana Ruiz Johnson lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with her husband and two children.

Review:

"Queen Panda has been awake for days, and her exhausted subjects are desperate to find a way to make their grouchy monarch fall asleep. Since she is unable to fall asleep, Queen Panda insists that her servants stay awake as well: The tailors sew by moonlight, the cook prepares rice cakes 24/7, and the butler keeps cleaning all night long. Exhausted, the royal adviser pens a decree, promising 'a bag of Chinese pearls' to whomever can lull the queen into slumber. Visitors arrive from around the world, and each of them tries a different trick: A Mongolian shepherd suggests that the queen count his sheep, a Bengali storyteller tells her 'the world's most boring story,' a Parisian diva sings her a lullaby . . . but nothing seems to work. Will the queen ever fall asleep? The tone of Isern's narrative is reminiscent of a folktale, especially the value-based ending (after a day of honest work, the queen falls asleep easily). Ruiz Johnson's rich illustrations are populated with anthropomorphic animals and display a Chinese influence, particularly in the clothes the characters wear, Queen Panda's palace, and depictions of flowers and the bamboo in the background. Text and illustrations work together seamlessly, resulting in subtle humor and wordplay that do not escape readers―the Mongolian shepherd, for instance, is a wolf, and the Bengali storyteller is a tiger. A charming, sensible tale for audiences young and old."―starred, Kirkus Reviews

(Journal)

About this edition

• Publisher: StarBerry Books ― Kane Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1635920957
• ISBN 13: 9781635920956
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Ruiz Johnson Mariana