
By Miriam Latimer (Illustrator)
A lonely girl befriends a panda, leading to unexpected friendships and adventures.
Florence, new in town and missing her friends, writes to a panda at the nearby zoo, hoping for companionship. To her delight, the panda responds, sparking a unique friendship. When asked to share about her special friends at school, Florence introduces Panda, leading to a visit that changes everything. Through Panda, she meets Bea, a girl who shares her passions for pandas, swimming, and more. This heartwarming tale explores the magic of imagination and the courage to find new friends, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy.
Living in a new house and about to start at a new school, Florence feels sad that all her friends are a long way away. So, she decides to write a letter to the panda who lives in the zoo next door to her new house, asking him to be her friend. Happily, he obliges. Soon, when Flo is asked to stand up in front of her whole class and talk about any special friends she has, it only seems right to tell everyone about Panda, and for him to come for a visit. It’s thanks to Panda that Flo meets Bea, a little girl who shares her love of pandas – and swimming, and hula-hooping, and all kinds of other things. A quiet, introspective story about finding the confidence to make new friends, Dear Panda plays with the boundaries of what’s real and what’s imagined, and gives readers a new way to think about finding kindred spirits. Grade: 2Fountas & Pinnel: KReading Recovery: 18Lexile Measure: AD 680LCommon Core State Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.2.2,2a,2b,5,5a,5b,6CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.2.4,4a,4b,4cCCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.1,2,3,5,6,7,10CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.3,5,8
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