*Starred Review* This beautifully painted and sweetly told tale—the first in the Mr. Badger and Mrs. Fox series—tells how two different families meet, overcome suspicion of each other, and work to combine resources. Mr. Badger has his paws full caring for a baby girl and her two older brothers, one of whom is a Peter Rabbit–like mischief maker. Mrs. Fox and her daughter happen into the badger burrow when their own is invaded by scary dogs. Rendered as a beginning graphic novel, the story and characters are presented with plenty of heart and soul: expressive anthropomorphic faces and postures and rich dialogue require and reward engagement. Watercolor panels vary in size on folio pages, and balloons contain an easy-to-read font. Although the story is self-contained in this book, this promising start of a series translated from the French will leave American readers wanting the next story. Quality translation and art production, along with a hardcover binding that lies flat, are details that suggest this book can be a popular mainstay in collections for a long time. A delight on many levels, it is also big enough to share with small groups and detailed enough to make for a leisurely individual reading experience. Grades K-3. --Francisca Goldsmith
Review
"This beautifully painted and sweetly told tale - the first in the Mr. Badger and Mrs. Fox series - tells how two different families meet, overcome suspicion of each other, and work to combine resources. Mr. Badger has his paws full caring for a baby girl and her two older brothers, one of whom is a Peter Rabbit-like mischief maker. Mrs. Fox and her daughter happen into the badger burrow when their own is invaded by scary dogs. Rendered as a beginning graphic novel, the story and characters are presented with plenty of heart and soul: expressive anthropomorphic faces and postures and rich dialogue require and reward engagement. Watercolor panels vary in size on folio pages, and balloons contain an easy-to-read font. Although the story is self-contained in this book, this promising start of a series translated from the French will leave American readers wanting the next story. Quality translation and art production, along with a hardcover binding that lies flat, are details that suggest this book can be a popular mainstay in collections for a long time. A delight on many levels, it is also big enough to share with small groups and detailed enough to make for a leisurely individual reading experience." --Booklist
"This picture-book-size graphic novel involves two single-parent animal families―Mr. Badger, his two sons Bristle and Grub, and baby daughter Berry; and Mrs. Fox and her daughter Ginger. After hunters destroy the Foxes' home, the adults meet and decide to share a burrow. Not happy with this arrangement, Bristle, Grub, and Ginger organize an open-house party to convince their parents that badgers and foxes should not live together. The story has enough action to keep readers' interest and a dramatic resolution. The theme of children in blended families is well developed without being didactic. With some help from adults, beginning-level readers will be able to read the comic-style text balloons and follow the panels. The soft watercolor illustrations evoke the summer forest setting and move the story along. A good start to a new series."
--School Library Journal
"Wooden dialogue weighs down this woodsy graphic tale of two single-parent families getting together. Routed out of their den by hunters, Mrs. Fox and her daughter, Ginger, wangle an invitation to stay the night with Mr. Badger and his kits, Grub, Bristle and the baby. The grown-ups click immediately; the young folk―particularly hostile, unsocialized only-child Ginger―start off, at least, at war. Arranged in squared-off graphic panels, several to a page, Tharlet's uncluttered, fluidly brushed watercolor scenes are easy to follow as the young folk squabble about games and other issues but eventually come together over plans for a big moving-in party. Unfortunately the conversation as translated by Burrell too often runs to blocky lines―"We cannot return to our burrow. It is all destroyed"―and there is little suspense about the eventual outcome, giving this purposeful but promising series an uneven start. Still, it's hard not to warm up to characters named Bristle and Grub; here's hoping things smooth out in future entries."
--Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Brigitte Luciani is the author of many French titles for children. Born in Hanover, Germany, she received a Masters degree in literature and worked in journalism, editing, and photo research before moving to France, where she began writing books for kids and adults. Around the same time, she discovered graphic novels and began looking for an illustrator to collaborate with on a comic of her own. She teamed up with with Eve Tharlet for the Monsieur Blaireau et Madame Renarde series, which has been translated into English as Mr. Badger and Mrs. Fox.
Eve Tharlet is the illustrator of over 150 books for children, including the Mr. Badger and Mrs. Fox series. Although born in Alsace, Ms. Tharlet grew up in Germany, taking courses in printmaking and screen-printing in Berlin before studying illustration in Strasbourg. She has illustrated all kinds of children’s products, including miniature books and calendars, games and magazines, schoolbooks and classic fairy tales. She is married and has two sons, and lives in the hilly countryside of Brittany.
