February 2017 Book of the Month | In a nutshell: gentle badgers versus greedy farmers, no contest! | Could badgers take the place of penguins at the top the charts of cuddly, lovable stars of children’s books? Certainly, if Badger Bill is anything to go by. His happy life is horribly interrupted when he is snatched by the thoroughly nasty Maude and Ethel McGloone. They plan to force him into a boxing match with their vicious dogs, and they’ve got equally mean plans for a family of llamas they’re holding hostage too. Fortunately, help is on the way in the shambling form of Uncle Shawn, one of the kindest and best humans in the world. The Dahlesque wickedness of the McGloones forms a wonderful contrast to the gentle benevolence shown by Uncle Shawn and there’s a zany, madcap humour and surreal logic to it all which is delightfully engaging.
It would be fun to compare Ethel and Maude with Aunts Sponge and Spiker in James and the Giant Peach. Children who enjoy the mix of crazy comedy, jeopardy and warmth will also appreciate Philip Ardagh’s stories of The Grunts. ~ Andrea Reece
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