Lin is sick of being nice! She has always been a good Panda at the Panda Sanctuary where she was born. She was raised to wash her paws after a poo, share her Panda Cake with others and always look clean, fluffy and cute. She became the face of the Sanctuary and famous everywhere.

This was great until her fame separates her from her brother (named Face-Like-A-Bag-of-Potatoes), whom she loves dearly. He had already been moved from her enclosure for bad behaviour, involving a very large poo, and now she will be even further away.

Lin has been selected to move to a zoo, where her fame will entice even more visitors to fuss and coo over how cute she is. Enough is enough, she decides. Being good got her moved far from her brother. Surely the opposite would happen if she was BAD!

This is much harder than she ever imagined. With her new Panda enclosure buddy Fu alongside, Lin is BAD. Growling, scaring, not washing her paws. Even copying one of the scariest animals in the zoo!

Will she ever be BAD enough to go home?

Everyone loves Pandas with their fluffy round bottoms, black teddy ears and gentle antics. Lin’s plans to shatter this adorable image are hilarious, as is her enclosure mate Fu who is keen to help Lin, but a bit dim.

Best laid plans prove to be the opposite and even the villain of the story has his own secret. The first in a new series by the creators of Dave Pigeon, Bad Panda is funny, illustrated on nearly every page, and subtly hints at whether zoos should cater more for animals than the people visiting.

I’m keen for the next episode. How much ‘badder’ can this Panda get?

Author – Swapna Haddow

Illustrator – Sheena Dempsey

Age – 6+

BAD Panda Teacher’s Notes and Activities here

(2021, Faber & Faber, Allen & Unwin, Animals, Pandas, Cobras, Snakes, Monkeys, Zoos, Humour, Funny, Laugh, Toilet humour, Naughty or Good, Siblings, Brother, Series, Family)