Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?

Starred review from June 16, 2003
More than 35 years ago, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
introduced two men who are now giants in the children's book field, Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle. Two years ago they collaborated on Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?,
and now they join forces a third time to zero in on endangered species Martin's rhyming couplets dance to a now-familiar brisk beat, parading past a lineup that includes a water buffalo, spider monkey, macaroni penguin and whooping crane, among others. As before, each animal's response to the question "What do you see?" prompts a turn of the page and a new creature to view ("Sea Lion, Sea Lion, what do you see?/ I see a red wolf sneaking by me"). In the end, a "dreaming child" sees the entire cast of critters, "all wild and free." The bouncy repetition and streamlined presentation is keenly attuned to a preschool audience, who will also find much to pore over in the artwork. Carle's signature jewel-toned tissue paper and acrylic collages are simple enough for youngest onlookers to appreciate, yet filled with subtleties to delight adult eyes (such as the cool, lush blues of sea and sky) and he creates a sense of forward motion through his positioning of the animals (they all face toward the right-hand page). Another standout from the creators of a line of perennial favorites. Ages 2-5.