Adventures of a Pangopup

The first thing you notice about this book is the beautiful illustrations. Warm and inviting, Ivan Sulima’s art creates friendly, accessible images to introduce youngsters to the interesting world of pangolins. His use of light is especially compelling. Each image is a joy to examine and packs in lots of fun details to spur conversations with young readers. (Such as, what other animals do you recognize in the picture? What are the animals eating? What kind of environment does this animal live in?) Of course, pangolins are pretty cute as they are, but the illustrations are adorable without being unrealistic. Coupled with the text, this book really is a pleasure to read.

Terri Tatchell has crafted the best kind of rhyming verse story about a young pangolin pup named Pangopup. The rhymes aren’t far-fetched or unnatural. The text has a very strong rhythm, which makes it an excellent choice to read aloud.

Although anthropomorphic, the story subtly imparts facts about pangolins, such as that they are nocturnal creatures that live in burrows, and the amusing ways they protect themselves from predators.

Pangopup is befriended by a dik-dik and they explore their world together, making new friends and having a great time. But the new friends run into trouble too.

The story touches on the danger pangolins face at the hands of humans. Nothing is too graphic for young children, but it provides an excellent springboard for conversation about endangered animals and the way some are hunted by humans.

At the end of Pangopup’s exciting story, end matter provides fun opportunities to learn more. There is a brief explanation of what it means to be endangered and why pangolins are in this category. There is also a list of 10 pangolin facts and 5 dik-dik facts. Finally, the back pages of information conclude with a graphic for kids to draw their own pangolin or dik-dik, and five easy ways to help increase awareness of pangolins and help their plight.

Overall, this is a story with exceptional illustrations that will introduce children to a fascinating animal they may have never heard of before. Interested kids may want to dig further into the lives of pangolins and seek out more informational texts and websites to learn more, but this book provides a nice introduction. Also, there’s a wonderful bonus. As stated on the title page, all proceeds from the sale of this book go to pangolin conservation. Giving this book to a child is another easy way to help endangered pangolins. All in all, you can’t go wrong with Adventures of a Pangopup.