This unfortunately did not work as an E-book, with pages mismatched and content all over the place. I imagine it will work best on a book shelf as a hard copy.

This book just wasn’t for me. I was expecting to laugh at least at some of it but I didn’t.
I’m aware it is a parody and could see where the author was going with it.
The one thing I took from it is, I think all of us have seen a bit of panda in us at some point in our life.

Brilliant!!!!!!!!! What a parody! I loved loved loved loved loved this book. It’s really funny and over far too soon. Poor Teddy totally gets the rough end of the stick and Panda is so brutal it’s just hilarious. So good I want it in hard copy and not just on Kindle. Easy one to rate.

Utterly hilarious - a wonderful escape from my usual type of reads! Made me laugh out loud many times! Wonderful illustrations too!

This was a fun parody of other inspirational quote books and I did enjoy it! I only wish it slightly more of a storyline to follow.

I really liked how quick it was to read and the sarcasm of the characters!

I have loved Paul Magrs's writing for years now. He is one of those rare authors who is just great at covering a range of genres- YA, magical realism, crime fiction, sci-fi... So it shouldn't be a big surprise to anyone that he has turned his hand to what poet Gerry Potter calls inspirational positivia. Well, sort of. Not really.

The Panda, The Cat and the Dreadful Teddy is a hilarious take on those kinds of books. The adorable figures of Panda, Cat and Teddy stand for us in Pandemic Times, listening to the trite phrases that are meant to make us feel great about ourselves and honestly reflecting that actually they’re just making us feel worse. And quite pissed off, really.

As part of my job I curate a ‘Thought For The Day’ for a local school and so I spend a lot of time looking at ‘inspirational’ memes and websites searching for something meaningful among the ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ type phrases which make me want to scream. The Panda, The Cat and the Dreadful Teddy is the antidote to this kind of thing. It’s more ‘Live, laugh, love and swear your head off if it all gets too much.’

One of the things I really love about it is that it isn’t completely cynical. Teddy, the little bear who just wants everyone to be happy, is so relatable that even as we’re laughing at sweary Panda’s responses we’re also on Teddy’s side too- he’s really cute and we like him, and we suspect that perhaps Panda actually likes him too really. I mean, they’re always together, and Panda hasn’t killed him, yet...

Paul’s drawings are wonderful (it was so hard to pick a few out of the book to post here) and the juxtaposition of the lovely little characters with Panda’s perma-rage had me laughing out loud several times. He does give some good advice too. I feel like the combination of the three characters are the perfect contemporary therapist- telling it like it is, reflecting pandemic rage, and sometimes encouraging you to just wise up.

The Panda, the a Cat and the Dreadful Teddy by Paul Magrs is a wonderfully funny and witty tale. The illustrations bring everything to life in a brilliant way.

This clearly wasn't the book for me. I thought it would be funny, but I just found it really unnecessary. Sorry.

Cute and funny in places but also quite confusing sometimes. I can't tell if there is supposed to be a thread to follow and it is difficult to read some of the writing.
However, Panda really does have the wisest words... "Surely it's gin time?"

I really enjoyed this hilarious book! The characters are vivid and lively and the humour jumps right off the page. The illustrations are great and the story, while not as 'heart-warming' as some might expect, is enough to put a smile on anyone's face. A loud-out-loud funny book

My thanks to HarperCollins U.K. Nonfiction for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Panda, the Cat and the Dreadful Teddy: a Parody’ by Paul Magrs in exchange for an honest review.

This is a brilliant little illustrated book that sends-up those popular inspirational and mindfulness books that feature animals.

Cynical Panda is finding the bouncy, upbeat Teddy annoying. He complains to his sidekick, Cat, who like most cats is indifferent and more interested in sleeping and grooming. Teddy is oblivious and keeps up with the cheerful suggestions for Panda and Cat to live their best lives.

It is delightfully illustrated by the author. At the end there is a photo of the real life Panda, Cat, and Teddy.

In the past I have enjoyed staging photos of various stuffed animal toys (is this the politically correct term?) around the house interacting with our perplexed cats, so this book totally appealed to my sensibilities.

Despite the cute cover and illustrations throughout, this is definitely intended for adults who can cope with strong language from panda bears.

This is my first book by Paul Magrs for some time and I was glad to reacquaint myself with his razor sharp wit.

I loved it and laughed a great deal. I quickly ordered myself its hardback edition. It may also prove a perfect Christmas gift for friends that are able to appreciate its cheeky humour.

Highly recommended.

The sort of book you might be tempted to buy your child for Xmas from the cover ........but don't it contains a lot of swearing.
I found it a very funny book with some great illustrations and lots of references to gin which is always a winner..
A great book and will make an excellent stocking filler for adults at Christmas.

I love this so much and have already been recommending it in work.
We all have days when positivity fails us and all we need is a good grumble with a glass of gin (or wine, vodka, rum etc)
Panda is the perfect spirit animal for the days when you can't quite muster your zen Teddy.
The perfect gift for 95% of people, although I guarantee that someone you know will be offended!

I only really know Paul Magrs from his Who-related work, mainly connected to his creation of Iris Wildthyme, who of Gallifrey's many exiles and renegades is undoubtedly the most gin-soaked. Still, that was all entertaining enough that when I saw a spoof picture book by him on Netgalley, I thought it was probably worth a look. And it was, even if I have only the vaguest awareness of the thing it's spoofing. Which is sappy and wannabe inspirational, would be my inference, simply from the format here, which largely consists of the teddy saying inspirational, sappy things, and the panda cussing him about it. A pairing I would have had the other way around, incidentally, since pandas are 100% the anodyne and ineffectual bears – though of course that could be part of the joke. So in the end it all comes down to the question, do you think there's much mileage in pictures of cute cuddly toys swearing at each other? Fortunately, I do. Mostly they won't work quoted out of context, without the smudgy visuals and faux-naive lettering, but I did get big 2020s feels from "One day we'll be able to get together with our friends again... Even the twats. Sometimes I think it's the twats I miss the most."

I'm one of the few people who really didn't like the book this pastiches and I chuckled a lot reading this, however like all these books they are one read only titles and don't stick in your mind for long.
Occasionally the text was quite hard to read due to the font

I loved it! Who doesn’t invent voices for their cats and stuffed toys?? Not just me, apparently……. And I love the fact that Panda swears so much and loves gin! Fabulous, funny and refreshing in a world where everything is so serious.

Now.........I wonder how many people will get this for their children, grand children for Christmas etc???

This new book called "The Panda, the Cat and the Dreadful Teddy A Parody by Paul Magrs".......is very similar to the famous book called "The Boy, the Mole, the Fox & the Horse". But with swearing and lots of it!........Hence why this is not recommended for children.......

I just loved this book and It had me laughing out loud and had me crying!!!, Hubby thought I was going mad!!! (Bless him)

It had great illustrations throughout with great inspirational' quotes which would be great in picture frames around my house to cheer me up especially a talking point when I have friends and visitors.......

I Loved it!! The funniest book of 2021!! and highly recommend it.

Big 5 stars from me!!!!

This book would make a great Christmas Santa present for somebody etc I have 2 people in mind!!!! lol

Big thanks to Netgalley for my ARC in return for my honest review.

I am really sorry but I did not enjoy this book, I think the concept was good but the overall story was not my cup of tea. Thank you for the chance to read this book.

This book was definitely not for me. I went into it thinking it was going to be a light hearted funny parody, and instead I found it extremely negative, at times offensive and hard to get through.

I absolutely loved this parody book of The Boy, the Fix, the Mole and the Horse. Now while I took a great deal of thought provoking insight out of that book, Paul Magrs just brings you back to Earth with quick, deadpan humour and a very honest look at what the everyday reaction to such positivity actually is.... Very, very funny! And I think we all know a Panda!