Written by: Kyo Maclear
Illustrated by: Jay Fleck
For Ages: 3-6 years
Language: English
Topics Covered: Self-Expression, Acceptance, Community.
Summary: Flo is the littlest panda in the family. She is also the most creative and always takes the time to do exactly what she wants to do. Flo’s favorite activities include imagination games, dancing, and saying her catchphrase “get floppy!” The other pandas wait around for Flo a lot. Flo can often be found meandering around complimenting fluffy clouds, smelling flowers, and chatting with butterflies. Eventually, the other pandas get bored waiting for Flo and take off on a boat ride without her. Suddenly, the engine stops working! The pandas are stuck in the water, with no one to help them. They shout Flo’s name, but she’s gone! Suddenly, she appears again and has a plan. Flo borrowed a giant balloon from a marching band and floats it over to the boat, rescuing everyone. The pandas realize that Flo has got her own style, and they could stand to relax a little more.
This book has the most adorable illustrations coupled with the important message to always be yourself. A great book for very young audiences, as well as an early reader developing reading and literacy skills.
About the Author & the Illustrator:
Kyo Maclear is an essayist, novelist and children’s author. She was born in London, England and moved to Toronto at the age of four with her British father (a foreign correspondent and documentary filmmaker) and Japanese mother (a painter and art dealer). Her books have been translated into fifteen languages, published in over twenty countries, and garnered nominations from the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, the Trillium Book Award, the Governor General’s Literary Awards, the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Awards, the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, the National Magazine Awards, among other honors. Kyo is a doctoral candidate at York University where she holds a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, and is faculty with The Humber School for Writers and associate faculty with the University of Guelph Creative Writing MFA. She has presented at schools and festivals around the world. Kyo lives and works in Toronto, on the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the New Credit, the Haudenosaunee, Métis, and the Huron-Wendat. She shares a home with two sons, two cats, and a singe
Jay Fleck is a Shorewood, IL based illustrator and picture book author. His artwork is bold and imaginative, featuring whimsical animal pairings, images of faraway lands and fantasy playgrounds, or just beautiful compositions of color and shape. He is inspired by old memories from childhood along with new experiences with his two young children. He drew a lot as a child but grew up to pursue other things, like a degree in computer engineering. After submitting several T-shirt designs to Threadless.com however, he got hooked on art and illustration. His artwork has been selected for print at Threadless.com, has been featured on products at the GAP, Papyrus, on the front page of Society6.com, FAB.com along with a number of other brick and mortar and internet stores. He lives with his family south of Chicago, which he believes is the best city in the world. (Just ask me about the hotdogs!) He spends his spare time running and reading (but not at the same time).