The Panda’s Child

In the first chapter of this cross-species narrative told in three sections, an infant who goes missing for a full week is found, alive, in the care of a panda. The bear walks peacefully past the human mother as she nurses the infant, and the villagers revere the bear: “They left her offerings and watched over her. She was one of them now.” In the second chapter, a procession gathering gifts for “the great ruler Alexander” capture the panda’s child, and the human boy, now nine, leaps to travel with the cub. “I can keep him alive for you,” the boy promises. Tense lines by Morris (The Lost Spells) have a folktale feel: “Peasant boy, what use are you to us but one more mouth to feed?” Focused on Asian-cued human characters, wild mammals, and jungle landscapes, naturalistic watercolor portraits by Fisher (The Pond) often have indistinct borders, like images from dreams. In the final chapter, the story turns again as resourcefulness and quick thinking deliver a rousing finale, with the added allure of alliances between the boy and beings whose lives he touches. Ages 4–up. (Sept.)