book cover

Bad Panda: The Cake Escape

by Swapna Haddow, illustrated by Sheena Dempsey

Interest age: 6 to 8
Reading age: 6 to 8

Published by Faber, 2022

  • Funny

About this book

Meet Lin. She’s a bad panda. She lives in the zoo with her friends Fu, also a panda, and Malo, a monkey. After a fun banana-throwing competition, Fu is nowhere to be found and Lin soon realises that he’s missing. At the same time, there are rumours of a terrible child visiting the zoo. And not just any terrible child – Billion McDingle-Waddlington, the most fearful child of all.

The very rich and spoilt Billion loves animals. As long as they’re dead and stuffed. He has a house full of tiger rugs, with stag heads on the wall. And now he might have kidnapped Fu!

Lin, Malo and their new small raccoon friend must follow the clues and rescue Fu. And so begins a funny and silly adventure that will have children giggling for ages.  

Like the first in the series, Bad Panda, this book has widely spaced text, font that’s been chosen to support reading, and distinctive red/grey illustrations, all of which will appeal to newly confident readers. It is easy to understand what’s going on, even if you haven’t read the first book – and you’re going to want to read everything by Swapna Haddow and Sheena Dempsey after you’ve read this. It’s a brilliantly funny read.

About the author

Londoner Swapna Haddow is the award-winning children's author of the Dave Pigeon series. She loves to write about boisterous animals that cause mayhem and is working to make sure mean cats, grizzly bears and big-hearted little rabbits find their place on the bookshelves. Friendship and humour are always at the heart of what Swapna loves to write.

Her first published book, Dave Pigeon, illustrated by Sheena Dempsey, received rave reviews and went on to win three regional awards in the UK and was shortlisted for the prestigious Sainsbury's Children's Book Award. The series is based on two pigeons who find themselves battling predators in an array of madcap scenarios, all the while proving that friendship and teamwork can defeat anything. Swapna now lives in New Zealand with her husband, son and their dog, Archie.

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