Mrs. Harkness and the Panda Educator s Guide

Transcription

1 Mrs. Harkness and the Panda Educator s Guide by Alicia Potter Illustrated by Melissa Sweet :: About the book: In 1934, Ruth Harkness had never seen a panda bear. Not many people in the world had. But soon the young Mrs. Harkness would inherit an expedition from her explorer husband: the hunt for a panda. She knew that bringing back a panda would be hard. Impossible, even. But she intended to try. So she went to China, where she found a guide, built traps, gathered supplies, and had explorer s clothes made all unheard of for a woman in those days. Then she set out, up the Yangtze River and into the wilderness. What she discovered would awe America: an adorable baby panda she named Su Lin, which means a little bit of something cute. With breathtaking illustrations by Caldecott Honor winning artist Melissa Sweet, this little known true story shares the tale of an adventurous woman whose unforgettable journey helped shape American attitudes toward wildlife. About the Author: Alicia Potter, an avid traveler and animal lover, found inspiration to tell this story in the magnitude of Ruth Harkness s independence, mission, and legacy. She is also the author of Fritz Danced the Fandango, which won an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Award, and works as a freelance journalist and children s book reviewer. About the Illustrator: Melissa Sweet is the Caldecott Honor winning illustrator of A River of Words by Jen Bryant, The Boy Who Drew Birds by Jacqueline Davies, and The Sleepy Little Alphabet by Judy Sierra, and is the author/ illustrator of Carmine: A Little More Red, named a New York Times Best Illustrated Book. Her book, Balloons Over Broadway garnered the 2012 Sibert Award. She was lucky enough to take a trip to China several years ago, and although she didn t bring back any pandas, she did return with a collection of paper and other collage materials that she used to create the art for this book.

2 Pre reading: What do you know about panda bears? How did you learn this information? Questions to consider: 1. In 1934, not many people had ever seen a panda bear. Why? 2. Why didn t Mrs. Harkness just join her husband on the expedition to find the panda? 3. What terrible news did Mrs. Harkness learn about her husband? Despite what others told her, what did she decide to do? 4. If you were Mrs. Harkness s friend, what advice would you have given her about the idea of inheriting her husband s expedition to China? 5. Why were her friends so concerned for her safety? Would you be willing to take such a journey even today? 6. How did Mrs. Harkness get to China? Why do you think she didn t just fly there? 7. From what locations did she possibly send postcards? 8. What were some of the concerns of people worried about Mrs. Harkness s safety? Do you think she listened to any of their advice or not? Why? 9. Explain how Mrs. Harkness prepared for the expedition once she reached China. Why did she need so much stuff? 10. Describe the different forms of transportation Mrs. Harkness used for each part of her expedition. Why did she need so many different types? Which one sounds like the most fun? 11. How many people joined her expedition? What did she hire them to do? Would you have gone to do one of the jobs she offered? 12. Once Mrs. Harkness reached the mountain, what steps did they take to find the pandas? 13. Describe the way Mrs. Harkness and her friend, Quentin, finally found a panda. 14. Just looking at the headlines upon Mrs. Harkness s return, how did America react to the panda? Where did Su Lin live in America? 15. Why do you think Mrs. Harkness returned to China?

3 VOCABULARY: Mrs. Harkness and the Panda Directions: 1. Put a mark before any word you ve HEARD before 2. Define any SIX terms in your own words 3. Draw a picture that best represents three of the words terrain: treacherous: expedition: inherited: athletic: daring: scoffed: steamer: Ceylon: bandits: dashing: tailor: tweed: bulky: scrambled: whimper: accomplished: hastened: fiancée: specimen: rugged:

4 Art: Inspired by Melissa Sweet s illustration, create a collage piece of your own based on an expedition YOU would like to take someday. Add a note that explains the location and what you d like to do there. Think about: what colors will work best to represent that location? What memorabilia or papers would add interest? What shapes will you use? Have you included any three dimensional objects? Will you use the whole page or have a border? Science: Good scientists always ask questions before they do experiments or head out on an expedition. Brainstorm a list of questions Mrs. Harkness may have wondered about each of these topics. Then write observations she might have made on each topic. Topic: Questions: Observations: Pandas Weather Transportation Clothing Language Flora & Fauna (plants and animals) Architecture (buildings) Math: Noodle with these word problems inspired by the book: 1. Pandas can eat up to 84 pounds of bamboo each day! If bamboo costs $2 how much would it cost to feed a panda for a day? A week? A whole month (of 30 days)?

5 2. You want to travel to Hong Kong to plan your own expedition in the mountains of China. If you have $2,000 in your savings and $4,000 in a checking account, do you have enough if the ticket costs $3,000 one way? 3. If you need to hire one person to carry each of your 22 bags on the expedition and each person wants to be paid $10 each day, how much should you budget for a seven day trip? A twelve day trip? A six month trip? 4. If the panda baby drinks three bottles of milk each day, how many will you have to make each week? What if he drinks four bottles each day? Ten bottles each day? 5. You want to send 10 postcards to your friends back home. If each postcard costs 25 cents to buy and send, how much should you budget? What if you want to send 20 postcards? Music: Sing to the tune Frere Jacques Mrs. Harkness Mrs. Harkness sailed to China sailed to China On an expedition She brought back a panda named Su Lin named Su Lin History: Using the Chronology of Events in the back of the book, create a timeline that also includes at least THREE important historical events (American or World events) that happened at the same time. Then, with a friend, talk about how these events may have made Mrs. Harkness s journey easier or more difficult. Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, a reading specialist and children s book author, created this guide. Find hundreds more like it available at her website! For more activity guides, books and games for kids, visit Melissa Sweet at: and on Facebook: