The Year of the Panda — Miriam Schlein

Daxiong mao is rare and mysterious, like a god, living in the midst of the mountains.

Strange things are happening on Lu Yi's farm. First, some men from the Chinese government ask Lu Yi's father to sell the property that has belonged to the family for generations. Then a giant panda appears in a neighbor's field, a rare occurrence, given the farm's distance from the high-mountain bamboo forests that pandas inhabit.

Lu Yi has a feeling that the two mysteries are somehow connected. And before long, an orphaned baby panda he finds in the woods provides an answer. As the boy nurses the helpless animal back to health, he begins an adventure that may well change his entire future.