Review by Booklist Review
PreS.^-Gr. 2. Badger lives in a cozy little house that he loves dearly. But when a storm batters his home, Badger is so overwhelmed by the repairs that he looks for a place to live. He moves into an enormous (albeit cold and impersonal) house and sells his old fixer-upper to Grandmother Mouse. A friendship develops between the two animals, and when Badger goes each afternoon to Grandmother Mouse's for tea, he starts to fix things up. Every day it's something else--the sticking door, the banging shutters, the leaky roof. When Grandmother Mouse's extended family comes to stay, she needs more room, so she and Badger make a switch, and once again Badger is back in his cozy house. Colorful, detailed illustrations in watercolor and pencil enhance this satisfying story of friendship and hard work that will appeal to story-hour audiences as well as lap-sit readers. --Helen Rosenberg
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In a sort of This Old House for the picture-book set, Muller (The Angel Tree) demonstrates that, indeed, there's no place like home. Badger's cozy cottage has its flaws the door sticks, the roof leaks, etc. but Badger overlooks them until a storm wreaks havoc. Declaring that he can't fix the damage, the waistcoat-wearing Badger finds himself a baronial mansion ("Now this is a house!"). His old place looks "so empty and sad" that Badger decides to advertise for a new resident for it, and in moves Grandmother Mouse, confident that "someone" will perform the necessary repairs. Uncomfortable in his imposing home, it is Badger who fixes the cottage's sticky door, glues the shutters in place, and so on; a clever ending rewards Badger for his hard work (and Grandmother for her guile). The illustrations suggest an English yesteryear, with characters sporting an elaborately quaint combination of Victorian and Edwardian fashions. Muller heaps on the visual details, especially in the cottage decor. Ages 4-7. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Badger loves his old house, despite its flaws. Then one night, a bad storm damages it. Unwilling to undertake the necessary repairs, he decides it's time to move. His fancy new house is much larger than his previous one but, not surprisingly, he soon misses his cozy old place. When the new tenant, Grandmother Mouse, gently points out just one of the house's pitfalls, Badger gallantly steps in and attempts to make repairs. With each ensuing visit, his confidence grows and soon the old abode is as good as new. The final problem of space, created when Grandmother Mouse's large extended family moves in with her, is solved by a house swap, leaving Badger back home. While Muller doesn't explain why Badger is initially reluctant to repair his house, Grandmother Mouse's gentle manipulation is both amusing and convincing. The characters' costumes (a tailcoat for Badger, a long dress with a bustle for Grandmother Mouse), along with details of architecture and setting, give the book a charming, old-fashioned look. Humorous touches keep the pictures, created with watercolors and pencil crayons, from being cloying, and offer engaging details not mentioned in the text. Young readers will likely enjoy return visits to Badger's house almost as much as he does.-Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Rather than repair his cottage, Badger moves into a cavernous mansion, but he misses his old house and soon finds himself fixing it up for Grandmother Mouse, the amiable new tenant. When Grandmother Mouse's many relatives arrive, she and Badger swap houses, and he gladly returns to his cottage. Detailed watercolor illustrations for this satisfying story comically depict Badger's adventures as a handyman. From HORN BOOK Fall 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A mix of common sense and generosity puts everyone in their rightful space. Badger, an amiable fellow who enjoys his creature comforts, lives in a snug little home under a spreading tree, drawn with the kind of warmth that makes you want to spread it with butter. Unfortunately, said tree doesn't protect the house from being beaten like a gong by a fierce storm. With so many repairs to be undertaken, Badger decides to move out-he's not handy-and makes his house available to Grandmother Mouse. Badger takes up residence in huge digs. Too huge-so sweeping are the premises that sometimes he can't even make it to his bedroom before falling asleep. Grandmother Mouse invites him over for a visit, during which she asks if Badger might just fix the door. To his surprise, he does. Invited back again and again, he fixes this and that to the point where his old home is good as new (and he has a new self-confidence on the home-repair front). Badger starts eyeing his old place with envy, and mice being mice, they could use more room. A swap is arranged and everyone is the happier. Watercolor and pencil crayon art conveys sunny domestic bliss as well as the gloom of unhappy dwellings. Lots of charming detail and square footage used as it was meant to be. (Picture book. 4-7)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
