Book Review: Adventures of a Pangopup

December 29, 2020 Joshua Books

Adventures of a Pangopup is the story of a wee little pangolin that believes he knows better than his mom and that he’s ready to leave the burrow and explore the outside world. It’s a story of making friends, but also finding the danger that you were warned about, and not knowing how to handle it. But, the lesson is learned, the players are safe – and we get a well-deserved shot at an African trophy hunter who needs to learn a lesson of his own.

Written by Terri Tatchell (screenwriter: District 9, Chappie) and illustrated by Ivan Sulima, Adventures of a Pangopup is the second book in the Endangered and Misunderstood series (Aye-Aye Gets Lucky), putting a focus on African animals so far, and with proceeds from the sale of each book going directly to help conservation efforts for the featured animal in each book.

Related – Book Review: Aye-Aye Gets Lucky!

Note: Okapi Loves His Zebra Pants is set for a February 14, 2021 release (Kindle) and will be the third book in the series. I’m already looking forward to it.

Because we all (especially Ollie) like Aye-Aye so much, I put the order in for Pangopup to come as a Christmas gift for him. In the days since he unwrapped the book along with the rest of his presents, we’ve read and re-read it at nap and bedtime. He likes it already, and it has also reignited his love for Aye-Aye which we’ve read a couple of times in recent days as well. It’s a hit with an added bonus.

The message of keeping a little one safe and them needing to learn that (hopefully, safely) is a big one for us right now. Ollie is a pretty brave little boy coming up on 3 years old, so he’s willing to climb on things and spin in circles and take some risks because he doesn’t know the risk – or doesn’t weigh it the same way that we do. It’s a tightrope walk always – wanting him to try new things and learn on his own, but also wanting to keep him safe from too many bumps and bruises or burns and broken bones.

Really, the Pangopup is my kid when he doesn’t listen when we say don’t stand and jump on the couch because it’s not safe – and then I turn my back and he’s jumping and then he slips and it’s a close call and everyone has a scare they didn’t need to have.

We also have to give love to the dik-dik sidekick who shows Pangopup a good time but also pushes their luck a little too far, but then also saves the day. It’s quite a run for the little deer. And, it’s awesome to get more animals in the story, just like we got the Flying Fox in the Aye-Aye story.

At 26 pages (of story) Adventures of a Pangopup is long enough to tell a good story for little ones (it’s not very wordy), short enough to hold their attention (he’s not yet 3 years old, so this matters), and is fun to read with rhymes and surprises and things to learn.

And speaking of learning, the additional info at the back of the book is great too. Here are my three favourite facts about the Pangolin and the dik-dik.

Pangolin Facts:
1. Pangolins walk on their hind legs using their tail and arms for balance.
2. Pangolins have more vertebrae than any other animal.
3. Pangolins can constrict their ears and nostrils to keep ants out while they eat.

Dik-dik Facts:
1. Dik-diks don’t need to drink water. They get enough from their food.
2. Dik-diks mate for life.
3. Dik-diks mark their territory with tears, urine and feces.

Terri Tatchell and Ivan Sulima have come together again on this one and I’m happy for it. I love that the proceeds from these sales go to protecting these endangered animals, and I can’t wait to read about Okapi and his Zebra pants in 2021. But for now, we’ve added Adventures of a Pangopup to our little home library and everyone is happy about that.