Zoe’s Rescue Zoo 3 – The Playful Panda

Amelia Cobb's The Playful Panda is a gentle animal story for 5 year olds about twin panda cubs who just can't get along.

What happens

Zoe Parker lives at the Rescue Zoo, where her mum is the vet. Her best friend is Meep, a tiny mouse lemur who's usually up to mischief. And she has a big secret. She can talk to the animals!

In this third Rescue Zoo book, Great-Uncle Horace roars up the path on a motorbike (his macaw Kiki is NOT impressed with the sidecar). In a crate are two baby pandas. They're sisters, and the zoo they came from could only afford to keep one.

Zoe is so excited that she talks to the cubs right in front of Great-Uncle Horace. Oops! Did he hear? Your reader will be holding their breath with her.

Chi Chi is bold and bouncy. Mei Mei is shy and would rather sit on Zoe's lap. Chi Chi calls her sister a baby. Mei Mei thinks Chi Chi is a show-off. They squabble over the bamboo, the apple and pretty much everything else.

Then grumpy Mr Pinch, the zoo manager, sets a deadline. If the twins are still fighting by Friday's big welcome event, one of them will be sent to another zoo.

The funniest bit is when the cubs finally team up. It's to make Mr Pinch's life a misery while he tries to take their photo! They roll in the mud, swap places and one of them sticks her tongue out at him.

If you've got two at home who can't be in the same room without an argument, this one might feel very familiar. Zoe even wishes she had a sister (squabbles and all).

It's worth knowing that the zoo's old panda, Su Lin, died a few months before the story starts. Zoe's mum explains she was simply very old, and Zoe misses her. It's gently done and it's early on, but a child who has recently lost a pet might want to talk about it.

What to read next

If they'd like to go back to where Zoe's adventures began, try The Lonely Lion Cub. It's the story of how Zoe found out she could understand what the animals were saying.