My Panda Sweater

**Lisa Bueno** (0:00)
Okay, our friends, so today we are reading a story called My Panda Sweater. This story was written by Giles Mom, it's illustrated by Barrow, and it is read today by Mommy and...

**Lisa Bueno** (0:28)
And this book was actually translated by a person named Lisa Rosensky because this story was not originally written in English. Wild, huh?

**SPEAKER_3** (0:42)
Yeah.

**SPEAKER_4** (0:44)
Let's read it.

**Lisa Bueno** (0:46)
So, when the book opens, we see a little girl, and she's at the beach, and she's wearing a panda sweater, and she says, I love my lucky panda sweater.

**SPEAKER_4** (0:56)
I wear it all the time. Even in the summer.
At school, at dance class, I'm a panda bear. Everywhere! I don't care if the other kids laugh. All I need to do is pull up my panda hood, and right away, everything feels better.
But my lucky panda sweater starts to shrink. Or maybe I'm growing. One day, it doesn't fit anymore. Mama suggests I put it in the box of clothes to give away.

**Lisa Bueno** (1:35)
Now that you're older, she says, it's time to show your lucky clothes with others.

**SPEAKER_4** (1:44)
That makes me think. I start to notice what people wear. I wonder about the stories behind their clothes. I notice that Mr. Arnaz's shoes are much too big.
Maybe they're lucky too. Maybe a clown gave them to him giant shoes so he can take giant steps towards happiness.

**Lisa Bueno** (2:12)
And in the picture, we can see he does have really ridiculously big shoes. And they kind of do look like clown shoes.

**SPEAKER_4** (2:19)
Yeah.
At the market, Somya the spoon seller always wears the same scarf. Maybe Dr. Mullins gave it to her on a rainy day. He makes her smile, so she doesn't mind if this scarf doesn't match her outfit.

**Lisa Bueno** (2:40)
And they're both wearing red scarves.

**SPEAKER_4** (2:44)
At school, Ziggy always wears the same sports shirt. Maybe his superstar uncle Ken gave him that shirt to remind him that he's a star too.

**Lisa Bueno** (2:55)
And it looks like maybe his uncle is like a famous soccer or football, I guess you would call it, player. Because he's got a trophy.
I don't think it's the, like, Vika? I don't think it's the World Cup, but it is a pretty famous looking trophy.

**SPEAKER_4** (3:11)
Cool.
Then one day, I see my lucky panda sweater again. Under the hood, I see a girl with tired eyes. She sits next to me. She doesn't say a word. Our desk shakes a little as she scribbles hard in her notebook. I wonder what her story is. I want to tell her the story of my panda sweater. That it brings good luck. That I'm glad she has it now. And I hope she'll always feel safe inside it, too.
When the bell rings, everyone runs out to the playground. Except us. And I smile at my panda friend, and she smiles back.

**Lisa Bueno** (4:09)
You know, that's step one to becoming a good friend, is if you've met someone and you would like to become their friend, a warm smile goes a long way to show that you are friendly.

**SPEAKER_4** (4:25)
In our classroom, I turn on some music. We dance together. A few people are watching, maybe even laughing at us, but we don't care.
We are panda bears, and we are not alone.

**Lisa Bueno** (4:45)
And in the picture, we can see she has got her friend now, dancing, having a great time. And we zoom out and we can see them in their school, and we can see the other kids who are behind them in the school yard, looking at them, and seeing how much fun they are having. It's one of those stories that makes you think twice about looking at what other people are wearing and trying to make a decision. Remember that famous saying, never judge a book by its cover? That's one of those things that I feel like we need to remember, that people's clothing in many ways is kind of like the cover of a book. It might tell us what's inside, but it might not.
We don't know what people are going through. So we always want to be kind and loving to every person that we meet, right?
And now my only question to you is, did you like today's story?

**SPEAKER_4** (5:46)
You know, I kind of liked it. Yeah.
All right.

**Lisa Bueno** (5:50)
And that, my dear friends, is the end.

**SPEAKER_4** (5:57)
Hope you can join us for another story tomorrow. Me too!

**SPEAKER_3** (6:03)
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