Bad Badger, written by Maryrose Wood and illustrated by Giulia Ghigini. Union Square Books, Hachette. 2025. $12.99 ages 7 and up

 

"Septimus was an unusual badger in many ways.
Did it make him a bad badger?
Or bad at being a badger? 
Or, as he sometimes worried, not actually a badger 
at all? 

Look at the facts:

Septimus loved being near the sea. He loved
the salt air, the cool evening breeze, the curve 
of the horizon, the kaleidoscopic sunsets. 
All this was unusual for a badger."

I sat down after lunch to start a new book I had been anticipating reading. Now, at 3, I have finished the reading and am sitting in another room to tell you about it. I will be saving it for my younger granddaughter to read when she visits next summer. It is GOOD! 

Septimus is a badger unsure of his identity. He knows he is not like other badgers. He has spots, not stripes. He lives in a cottage, not in the forest. He loves opera, Italian and watching beautiful sunsets from his front porch. He is terribly worried that he is a 'bad' badger. 

He is pleasantly surprised to welcome a guest one Wednesday evening. A seagull, he dubs Gully lands happily on his windowsill and accepts an offer of tea and a biscuit. Gully has one response to Septimus and his overtures of friendship. Caw! is the consistent and only response to the conversation. Septimus is happy to assume he knows what Gully is feeling and sharing. The two get along famously. 

They embark on a trip to the market on a tandem bike, and a visit to the seaside which Gully loves and Septimus has reservations about for both sand and water. The trip to the beach only spikes the badger's insecurity about his place in the world. Soon after that, Gully disappears. The Wednesday visits no longer happen. There is no sign of Gully anywhere. Septimus in concerned that he has done something to hurt his friend; he seeks to enlist the help of a team of detectives who turn out to be snails. You can only imagine their consternation at learning Gully is, in fact, a seagull. 

Finally meeting up with a flock of seagulls on the beach near his home, Septimus learns that they know all about him. Gully has shared their story. They promise to lead the badger to his missing friend. What a surprise reunion is in store! It's the perfect ending to a heartfelt and cozy (and unusual) friendship that will live long in the memory of those who read it.