Blue Badger
Poor Badger can’t decide if he’s black and white or white and black. To make matters worse, sitting on blueberries has turned his bottom blue. Determined to discover his true self, Badger asks his fellow black and white friends for help with his identity crisis.
The other animals aren’t concerned with colours; they’re all preoccupied with something else. One tells Badger he’s too small, another says he’s too large. Zebra turns Badger’s question around, Panda doesn’t care, while Skunk thinks Badger smells funny. No one has a satisfying answer except for Penguin who tells Badger that he’s kind, ‘and that’s the best thing of all.’ Penguin also assures Badger that he can be anything he chooses. Badger ends up even more blue on the outside but no longer blue on the inside.
This endearing tale celebrates kindness and demonstrates how actions, not appearances, define us. It explores how talking about feelings helps turn them around and shows that no matter what we look like, we can be whatever we want. We see that everything is relative and even a blue bottom can be transformed with a change of perspective.
I love the illustrations and how the limited palette creates an interesting contrast between black and white animals and brightly coloured backgrounds. The striking images, bold shapes and simple text will appeal to the very young, as will the amusing characters. We can all see something of ourselves in Badger and, like him, learn to relax and enjoy the blueberries.
