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Review

Pandemonium

by Gail Aldwin

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/Identity

With gorgeous illustrations and age appropriate language, Pandemonium is a great way to teach children a new vocab word or two.

Cute and clever.

Elements

Vibrant and colorful.

Characters

I simply love alliteration, especially when it comes to children’s literature, so I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that the main character of Pandemonium was a Purple Panda named Peta. However, the character herself was a little mischievous and I found myself wishing the negative impacts of that trait had been addressed a bit more in the story. 

Writing Style

Though certainly age appropriate, I really appreciated the way Aldwin incorporated some more advanced vocabulary into Pandemonium to facilitate that process of learning through literature.

Plot

The idea of a purple panda who gets into mischief in a department store is so cute. Though, I did find myself wishing that I had been able to see a bit more of Peta’s adventure in the toy story where this story was supposedly taking place.

Illustrations

Colorful and distinctive, the illustrations for Pandemonium were simply gorgeous. Illustrator Fiona Zechmeister’s artwork really brought the story to a whole new level with eye-catching characters and design.

Thoughts

First Impression

Zechmeister’s illustrations do a wonderful job of depicting the story for children not yet able to read in a colorful, eye-catching and distinctive style.

Appreciation

Cute, vibrant, and quick, I expect that Pandemonium could be the quite the enjoyable story for young readers. As I mentioned above, I simply love the play on words both with the character “Peta the purple panda” and the name PANDA-monium. (I love a good pun.)

I really appreciated the attempt Aldwin made to expose young readers to new vocabulary and I think the association of a mischievous panda and the word pandemonium will prove to be quite effective in helping children learn this new noun.

CRITICISM

This book is on the shorter side. Had it been a tad longer, more of Aldwin’s message might have been able to come through.

The first time that I read this story, I wasn’t exactly certain what the message of Pandemonium was. There were two great themes I was able to detect after a second read, but I just wished for a little bit more clarity regarding what the lesson was that young readers were learning from Peta and also what her journey was.

The Last Word

Pandemonium is certainly a fun and entertaining way for children to learn a new word!

Cute and clever…

Age Group:  Children

Recommendation: Yes

Related Cause: Tolerance

Summary: PANDA-monium

Illustrator:  Fiona Zechmeister

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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