Panda at the Door

Sarah Horne's Panda at the Door is a funny, warm-hearted story for 7 year olds about a boy who badly needs some help and a panda who's desperate to give it.

What happens

Pudding is the Star Attraction at Edinburgh Zoo. She's watched Mary Poppins so many times she knows it by heart, and more than anything she'd love a family who needs her.

Then she finds out the zoo is sending her to China.

On the other side of the city it's Callum Campbell's ninth birthday, and it's a rotten one. The boy across the road takes his dinner money. His mum and dad are arguing about bacon (of all things). Then Dad storms out of the front door and doesn't come back.

Cal's present is a certificate saying he's adopted a panda. He emails her, mostly out of grumpiness. The next morning the doorbell rings and there she is, wearing Mum's flowerpot as a hat.

Who wouldn't want a panda for a nanny? Pudding makes "panda cakes", hands out spoonfuls of sugar for shock and gives the biggest bear hugs going.

It's very funny. Mum faints clean away, Cal's little sister Tabby wants Pudding all to herself, and his best mate Neil is sure it's Cal's dad in a VERY realistic costume.

There's real feeling in it too. Cal is worried sick about his dad, and Pudding's hugs help more than he expected. Then the news comes on the radio, and it's all about a missing panda.

It's worth knowing that the family trouble comes right at the start. Cal's parents shout at each other on his birthday, his dad walks out, and the bully kicks a football into his stomach. The bully's own dad is a big shouter too. If your reader is living through something similar, this one might be close to home, so it could be a good one to share.

For most children, though, Pudding makes everything feel safe and silly at once. And the Edinburgh setting, with Gerald the zookeeper's "Och!" and "hen", is lovely to read aloud.

What to read next

If they love the idea of a big animal arriving to look after a worried boy, Oscar's Lion begins with a lion sitting on Oscar's parents' bed one morning, offering to read him his favourite book.