Badger's New House

Anne Hutchings, a former elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Durham Board of Education, is an educational consultant.

Badger has spent many happy years in his perfect, albeit dilapidated,
little house. But when an enormous storm hits, causing extensive damage
and making his house less than perfect and even more dilapidated, he
decides to move to larger, more imposing quarters.

Advertising his old house as a handyman special, Badger soon finds a
buyer. Grandmother Mouse is not in the least daunted at the prospect of
so many repairs. “Someone will fix them for me,” says she.

At first Badger enjoys his mansion, but the novelty soon wears off and
he misses his cosy little house. When Grandmother invites him to tea, he
accepts eagerly. While there, he volunteers to fix the door that sticks
and discovers that he can, in fact, repair things. On subsequent visits
he glues the shutters, repairs the roof, and cleans the chimney, making
the little house absolutely perfect! But soon a new problem arises. Can
Badger fix this one, too?

Robin Muller’s watercolor and pencil-crayon illustrations are a
delight. Grandmother’s bustle-skirted dresses and Badger’s tailcoat
take us back to Victorian England, and the humorous details Muller
includes expand and supplement the text. We share Badger’s sense of
accomplishment and pride at his successful repairs, even though it’s
evident that he is no Bob Vila.

Primary grade level readers will chuckle in amusement at Grandmother
Mouse’s tactics for getting her house in order and spend hours poring
over the illustrations. This gentle story of friendship with its
completely satisfying conclusion would be a perfect choice for a
read-aloud. Highly recommended.