The action in this entertaining and informative picture book takes place on a riverbank. Otters live on one side of the river, badgers live on the other, and they do not get along! In fact, things have got so quarrelsome that the leaders have decided no otter and no badger must EVER cross the river. But things are set to change when Francie (a kind of otter Mary Berry) gets involved; if anything can bring the two sets of riverbank dwellers together, it’s Francie’s baking! Both sides are delightfully childish and childlike – there’s a cake fight that will delight young readers and some very inventive name-calling – but the message of the importance getting along, of tolerance and compromise is neatly delivered. And it all ends with a recipe for Francie’s chocolate chip cookies – delicious!
The otters and the badgers live on either side of the river, but they have never seen eye to eye. Neither group can cross to the opposite riverbank. But one day shy otter-baker Francie accidentally ventures into the badger lands in search of a new ingredient. As the two sides begin arguing again, she has unwittingly set off a new chapter in their ongoing feud. But maybe Francie's stunning new cookies - otter-baked but with badger-territory ingredients - may finally help them learn to get along.
A funny and heartfelt story of tolerance, compromise and finding common ground. Anya Glazer's detailed artwork will immerse readers in the rich world of otters and badgers, and reward multiple readings. Provides a fun-packed introduction to conflict resolution . . . and cookery!
Anya Glazer is a London-based illustrator and writer.
In 2015 she completed a Masters in Children's Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art. For her undergraduate degree she studied History and French at Oxford University, after which she decided to pursue her original career plan (conceived age six) of drawing pictures and telling stories.
She loves working in pencil, which is how most of her illustrations begin, and in between projects she can often be found doodling dinosaurs as well as other animals not yet extinct. In her work she likes to incorporate humour and wordplay, and explore different narrative approaches from wordless stories to comics and illustration for older children.
