It’s lovely to see those moments between them where they show they’re really good friends underneath it all. That rings so true because we all have friends that we spar with or take the piss out of, but underneath there’s a deep bond. It’s those moments that show Magrs’ genius. It’s not just a simple spoof; this is a world we all know and deep down sometimes we’re all a bit like the Panda, aren’t we? I’ve been having bad days. Like really bad ones. Bumping into this book, I’m considering a proper bliss. I smiled, laughed and loved. This book defines “Feels like a warm hug”. So many quotes I loved and would love to share with everyone but unable to. Might share a separate post of favourites. Such dreamlike artistic illustrations, I’ve been swooning over!

Is Teddy misunderstood or is Panda just a vicious sod? Si Hart gets drawn into Paul Magrs’ world of snowy days, picnics and gin!

Christmas Cards & Gift Wrap

Magrs’ glee in spoofing The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse is evident throughout the The Panda, The Cat and The Dreadful Teddy. Magrs’ artwork is an utter delight. It is simple but perfect, striking just the right balance between being childlike and more sophisticated than it seems at first glance. Likewise, the text is never a cruel spoof, but it is extremely funny. At almost every turn, Panda smashes Teddy’s optimistic outlook with a witty retort or more often than not a raft of expletives that never fail to bring a smile. This is one very sweary Panda!” Some examples of the kind of humour in the book: ( TBH, these are the only three lines I actually found a tad funny. The rest were atrocious.) This is a book of nice illustrations and some words from which you will likely gain some sort of inspiration. Like:

This title is supposed to be taken lightly and make you feel that it's okay to feel the negative range of emotions that you do. I loved the colour palette and the illustrations.💕 The three titular characters are the ones interacting in this book. Panda is the fun fellow. Cat is supposed to be nice but is a little self-centred, as are most cats. Teddy considers himself the bee’s knees and is not a good friend to the other two. They are all “friends”, just not the nice sorts. I think the whole point of making books is to make the world a better place. I am here to lighten your load just a little bit. And so is the cat. The cat’s quite nice. He can be a bit selfish sometimes, I suppose.” Magrs’ glee in spoofing The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse is evident throughout the The Panda, The Cat and The Dreadful Teddy. Magrs’ artwork is an utter delight. It is simple but perfect, striking just the right balance between being childlike and more sophisticated than it seems at first glance. Likewise, the text is never a cruel spoof, but it is extremely funny. At almost every turn, Panda smashes Teddy’s optimistic outlook with a witty retort or more often than not a raft of expletives that never fail to bring a smile. This is one very sweary Panda!