When I Draw a Panda

A girl narrates as she draws on a chalkboard wall in her room. She admits that when people tell her to make a perfect circle, it comes out “a little wonky.” And so, when drawing a panda, she scrawls masses of imperfect, overlapping loops until an undeniably panda-like figure emerges. Like Blackboard Bear in Martha Alexander’s long-running picture-book series, Panda steps down from the chalkboard and enters the child’s world. He becomes her ally in creative rebellion: “If they tell him to draw something pretty, he draws something pretty silly.” His playful spirit frees her to draw more intuitively. While the front endpapers offer step-by-step instructions for eight “perfect” drawing projects, such as “the perfect circle” and “the perfect panda,” the back endpapers feature the same projects overlaid with the girl’s drawings. Written in a conversational tone, the narrative captures the child's satisfaction in making art her own way. The illustrations, created with colored pencil, watercolor, gouache, and pastel, express the spirit of the story beautifully. This amusing picture book encourages imagination and individuality.