Badger Books

We revisit the little town of Ballybrush in Paddy Donnelly’s new picturebook and drop in on Badger Books, next to Fox & Son Tailers, setting of course for his earlier bestseller. Badger Books is for readers of all kinds, not just badgers, and Badger, who runs it, can find any book you want, ‘though sometimes he was a little bit grumpy’. One day a new customer comes to the shop with a very specific request. Rory, hero of Fox & Son Tailers, tells Badger exactly the book he wants, but Badger doesn’t have it, it doesn’t exist and – becoming more than a little grumpy – he tells Rory he’ll have to write it himself. There’s just one problem for Rory: he hasn’t learned to write yet. For a while, the two are dejected – Rory sad, Badger guilty – their emotions beautifully expressed in an illustration of the pair of them sitting side by side on a bridge, legs dangling. But then, Badger decides they will create the book together, with him writing the words and Rory providing the pictures. Instantly they cheer up and set to work, and the last pages shows Badger’s customers snapping up their copies at the book launch. It’s another quirky and charming story, elegantly plotted and beautifully paced and with a world of detail and description on every page. Young readers will find the book with a much stronger understanding of the creative process than when they opened it too and will feel immense satisfaction that Rory is able to realise his vision of the story. A lovely celebration of books (and bookshops), the imagination and community too.