More from the “Panda Beware” series of encore presentations!
We really need to more thoroughly check the panda kindergarten’s reading list.
pass the cookies, okay?
Huzzah! Misery bear!
To the moon, Alice!
Hey, and while we’re at it, check out all the take-home-your-own-pandas goodness on our book page. It’s never too early to start shopping for the holidays! Black and white Friday is right around the corner.
Be the Bear,
Bob T. Panda
A couple weeks ago I attended an illustrator retreat/workshop, jointly put on by the Western Washington chapter of SCBWI (Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and our compadres in the Portland Oregon group. Putting on an event like this is not a small feat, and the organizers did an excellent job.
We had two wonderful instructors form the world of children’s literature, Kelly Murphy and Sergio Ruzzier. I learned a bunch of great techniques, as well as some strategies for getting a story moving, which I am absolutely going to put into practice…um…really soon. The following drawing (no pandas!) was the result of one of our exercises that we completed in Sergio’s class.
I think I was trying to channel Bill Watterson’s snowman cartoons in Calvin and Hobbes when I did this one.
I don’t want to leave you without any pandas, so…
Always read the directions…
Be the Bear!
Bob T. Panda
Wait…is that right? Daylight losing time is almost here!!!
Fabulous Furry Friday KNOWS that this is one of your favorites!
And while we’re at it, here’s another one of my favorites!
Just because….
Have a Fabulous Furry Friday!
Be the Bear!
Bob T. Panda
Fabulous Furry Friday seems to roll around faster and faster, doesn’t it? Hmmmm. we seem to be in a Pinky and Meihem twins mode this week, so lets just continue with that line of thought.
This cartoon was inspired by one of my friends (now in real life) Judy Young, of the infamous Pinky fan club, who gather sometimes daily at the National Zoo to observe the actual Bao Bao Princess Pinky panda, mostly climbing up the dreaded hemlock, but sometimes frolicking for the pandarazzi. The photo that inspired this was not of Pinky, playing with bubbles, but a group of children having a blast blowing gigantic bubbles and chasing them over the grass. I though Pinky would enjoy this activity.
Oh dear….are you going to leave her there?
The next cartoon was inspired by an internet quiz, “What Kind of Cuppycake are You?” That’s easy. One that’s got lots of …um…frosting.
I have extra frosting!
Pinky will be back on Sunday! Don’t keep her waiting!
Be the Bear
Bob T. Panda
We are sorry to tell you that Inspector Panda was unavoidably detained, just when things were really starting to heat up. He asked me to relay his apologies, but he also reminded me to tell you that he will be back in December for 31 Days of Pandas and that it going to be all about him, at least 5 days a week. So much stuff is about to happen in this story, that I thought it would be more fun to read an installment every day, than to have to wait a week between episodes, so just hold that thought. I will do a recap in the week before 31 Days of Pandas starts on December 1st, ‘kay?
Meantime, by special request of one of my faithful readers (who I have actually met, while waiting for Princess Pinky to get out of her $#!!@*^% hemlock, on my last visit to Pinky-land) we see just why Pinky is up to up there.
Excuse me, Mr. Watterson, but….
Now we know what Pinky does in her hemlock clubhouse!
Oh dear, the Mei-hem twinkies have made Pinky mad. Uh oh.
If I was really on top of this whole book promotion thing, I would point out that Book 5 of the Panda Chronicles has just been released, and it is all about Pinky, except when it is about the Meihems, and that you could look at these cartoons as much as you want if you would only hop over to Amazon and order the book.
Just saying.
It’s Pink, but still kinda, um…dangerous!
Be the Bear!
Bob T. Panda
I love my readers.
They send me links to stories about pandas, or about bears, or about totally unrelated things that might need to be addressed by panda satire. For instance, the woman who was stopped going through airport security because the frosting on her cuppycake weighed more than 3 ounces. I mean…wasn’t I OBLIGATED to write a cartoon about that?
well, if I can’t carry it through security, can I eat it now?
The other day, my friend and partner in cuppycake obsession, Vicky Vladic, sent me this story about tourism in Australia. The funny thing is, the TV spot was generated in China. You know I had to do this cartoon:
Is this a film of the pandy kindy?
:o)
Be the Bear!
Bob T. Panda
Oh yeah…I can’t figure it out…just a week and a half ago I was ahead on my cartoon schedule, and now I am behind and playing catch-up. or is that Ketchup?
Whatever.
Well, as I am now starting to prepare for This year’s 31 Days of Pandas in December, I may…um…have to post a few encore presentations in the meantime, so I can get ahead again. If that makes any sense. It’s no wonder we are endangered.
Never fear, however! This Sunday will have a brand new cartoon, about a news story that was first brought to my attention by astute reader and noted cuppycake baker, Vicky Vladic. Several others have sent me the link as well, for which I thank you. It is always appropriate to bring any such news stories to my attention, as one never knows if someone already did or not, and this one would have been a shame to miss. And just to whet your appetite for The Panda Chronicles take on this story, here is the link to the actual story. Stay tuned for a ZooNooz exclusive on Sunday!
But now, of course it’s time for our fabulous Furry Friday Encore presentations!
another cartoon inspired by real news!
Much better to take a selfie with pandas! (as was this!)
not to mention…
Who says real life can’t be funny?
Have a happy Fabulous Furry Friday!
Be the Bear
Bob T. Panda
…and just in time for Fabulous Furry Friday, no less! Actually, someone has already snuck into the Pandapocalypse Now! stronghold over at Amazon and procured the first copy! Fess up! Who did that????
What’s that, you say? Is there a new Panda Chronicles Compendium perhaps? Why, yes, as a matter of fact there is, and it stars Princess Pinky and the Meihem twins!!! and the cover looks something like (OK, exactly like) this:
It’s Pink, but still kinda, um…dangerous!
From the very beginning of Pinky’s reign of terror in our nation’s capitol, until her very first birthday party, this volume celebrates all things Pinky and Meihem in a three ring circus pandapalooza. Like for instance….
Oh, those little scamps! “How does you spell ‘hostage’?”
Or how about the first appearance of the Meihems when they were teeny tiny little pandas?
The first appearance of the twinkies on The Panda Chronicles
I’m sure you will want your very own copy (hint, hint, wink, wink, nudge, nudge) so hop on over to the Pandapocalypse Now! page and scurry on over to Amazon and get your own copy of The Panda Chronicles Book 5: Pandapocalypse Now!
Not since The Book of Wu have so many pandas behaved so badly. Huzzah!
Pandas are standing by to take your order. (And if you would like to support Pandas International with your purchase, I’ve been told that there is a program called Amazon Smile: just type “Amazon smile” in the search box and then you get to pick your non-profit, if I remember correctly. Once you’ve made that choice, Amazon remembers for future purchases.)
Can we make this kind of stuff up? No we cannot. It is Banned Books Week, those scandalous literary tomes that send some people scurrying for their zippo lighters, and no books make censorious individuals fan the fierce flames of fascism more, than books that celebrate….
Yeah, right. But to celebrate all banned books, we bring you an encore presentation of some of Bob T’s works of literary genius! Huzzah! Where’s my zippo?
Bob’s first foray into the realms of literature …
What could be more fun than blobbing…I mean blogging?
If any book should be banned….
And lest we forget that there STILL is no MacArthur Grant for Panda Satire….
In my non-panda-satirizing time (what little there is of that,) I’ve been reading the new book by Elizabeth Bird, Julie Danielson, and Peter D. Sieruta, Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children’s Literature, which is a great read in honor of Banned Books Week. It’s full of untold scandals, books that were banned (and burned!) quite often by people who hadn’t actually read them, they’d just heard there was something naughty about them. It’s quite an eye opening read, especially if you thought children’s literature was all fluffy bunnies and sleepy kitties. Not only that, but it is giving me a great reading list of books I want to read. I highly recommend it…um…when you are done reading The Panda Chronicles, anyway.
Hope you are having a happy banned book week! Read something naughty today!
And speaking of Books to be Banned, the fifth book in the Panda Chronicles series will be coming out next month! Huzzah! If you want a sneak peak at the cover, make sure you are signed up for my newsletter which I swear I am going to write and send out next week. Look for the link at the top of the right hand column that says:
Be the Bear,
Bob T Panda
I’m sure that Inspector Panda will forgive us for bumping him out of his usual day, I hope to make up for it on Sunday with the next exciting episode. I mean, how could I leave you hanging with Mr. Wu roaring off with the panda kindergarten, just after Babette (was THAT Babette????) stole his tape?
Because I’m an evil person…um…panda deep down.
But, today’s ‘toon brings a recent kerfuffle between Pinky and the Meihems to a close, and was inspired by this news story which was just. too. enticing. to ignore. Here’s another account of the incident which was extremely inspirational in creating todays’s offering. You may recognize Pinky’s parting remarks as a quote from the news story.
And in case you are just joining us this week, here are the previous cartoons (which will all appear in the soon to be released Book 5 of the Panda Chronicles!)
If you think that maybe elephants never forget, they have nothing on pandas.
Is this any way to treat our Nation’s most adorable icon?
The forces of Meihem are only barely in check.
“Do you know who I am????” Yeah, we do.
Be the bear,
Bob T. Panda