Wang Wang and Funi by Phil Cummings
Ill.
by Shane Devries. Imagination
Ventures, 2009. ISBN 978192127004.
(Ages 3+) Highly
recommended. This
beautifully presented picture book which entices the reader into the
world of
the Adelaide Zoo and its new arrivals, the two giant pandas from China,
is an
excellently crafted introduction to the world of these animals. Highly
respected local author, Phil Cummings has shown the other animals in
the zoo
wanting to see their new house mates, and they peek through branches
and around
trees, under buildings and through the bamboo, to see the black and
white
creatures at play. Eating, playing, stumbling and scratching, it
becomes all
too much for the pandas, and they fall asleep.
Phil
Cummings engages the younger reader with his rhyming phrases which
encapsulate
the day's doings of the giant panda. Children going to the Adelaide Zoo
will
know what to look for as they see these creatures, and be prepared in
advance
for their experience. Kids will love to read the book with their
teachers and
parents, learning some of the rhymes to repeat for themselves. Read out
loud,
this book is a treat for all. The illustrations by new graphic artist,
Shane
Devries, will delight the readers, as they search for all the elements
of a
zoo, watch out for the different animals represented, view the
different types
of enclosures the animals are kept in, and marvel at the colour and
vitality of
the animals shown.
Two
pages I loved amongst many are the opening double page spread with its
representation of the main gate at the Adelaide Zoo. The wonderful page
has
recognisable aspects of the main gate, and draws the reader into the
book. The
second to last double page spread is just wonderful, with the animals
from the
giraffe down to the beaver, watching as the pandas fall asleep. The eye
is
drawn form the top left hand corner down to the bottom right, ready for
the
next page. On the last page is a map showing the journey the pandas are
making
from their home in China to their new home in Adelaide, and
information about
the pandas is given.
Produced
under the auspices of the Adelaide Zoo, proceeds form the sale of this
book
will go in part to help protect the pandas, only 2500 of which still
live in
the wild. It is great to see an institution engaging an author and
illustrator
for such a project, as many such books commissioned for events such as
this are
dreary and didactic. This is a far cry from that. Black dog books has
also
published a book by the Adelaide Zoo's conservation psychologist, De
Carla
Litchfield, called Saving Pandas,
which is a non fiction book giving a huge amount of information about
these
creatures. The two books compliment each other well, and would form a
basis of
a panda display to celebrate the arrival of these bears in
Australia.
Fran Knight