Skunk and Badger
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
The first title in a warm and witty illustrated chapter-book series from Newbery Honor–winner Amy Timberlake and superstar illustrator Jon Klassen, about a pair of unlikely animal friends
Analytical and set in his ways, Badger is taken aback when jolly, easygoing Skunk rings the doorbell to announce he’s Badger’s new roommate. (Badger may have been ignoring his landlord Aunt Lula’s letters . . . ) But as Badger begrudgingly opens up his home—and heart—to Skunk and his unconventional ways, the two characters become irrevocably changed by each other, establishing an odd-couple friendship that is timeless and real.
Set in a brownstone in a town that evokes a slightly-more-urban Hundred Acre Wood, the story is part Wind in the Willows, part Wallace and Gromit. Filled with a delightful population of chickens, sheep, stoats, hedgehogs, voles and philosophical musings, it establishes the perfect scenario for illustrations by Caldecott Medal–winner (This Is Not My Hat) and Honor illustrator (Extra Yarn, Sam and Dave Dig a Hole) Jon Klassen.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
When Skunk barges into Badger's quiet brownstone, readers sympathize with the scholarly, solitary Badger, who spends his days doing "Important Rock Work." Skunk toys idly with Badger's treasured tools, and he seems bent on staying but why? A letter from Badger's Aunt Luna, the building's owner, answers the question: "What would you think of Skunk moving into the brownstone?" Faced with an unwanted housemate, Badger must learn to live with and learn from Skunk's warm, chaotic presence, especially his willingness to extend hospitality to the neighborhood's chickens. Occasional art by Caldecott Medalist Klassen offers Wind in the Willows wistfulness. Gleeful, onomatopoeic prose by Newbery Honoree Timberlake, meanwhile, keeps readers engaged through laugh-out-loud repetition as she tackles sensitive issues such as elitism, exclusivity, and even science cited for nefarious purposes: "You're a skunk. I am a badger. We are not family." Frog and Toad like in nuance and tenor, this is no old-fashioned story in which Skunk charms Badger and thaws his frozen heart. Badger is in a privileged position, and his refusal to share what he has and to protect Skunk and his guests has a deep and timely significance one rendered with an expertly light touch. Ages 8 12.
