Badger and the Great Rescue by Suzanne Chiew and Caroline Pedler
| Badger and the Great Rescue by Suzanne Chiew and Caroline Pedler | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Sam Tyler
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| Summary: Join Badger and pals in this beautifully illustrated nostalgia-led children's book about a group of friends who have to give up their own items to help someone in trouble. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: January 2016 |
| Publisher: Little Tiger Press | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9781848691926 | |
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Upcycling is a great idea, take some old rubbish and make yourself a washing line or new tent. Badger and friends have found some odd bits and bobs around the forest and they all have great ideas on how to use them, but where did all this stuff come from? Sometimes it is best to find out the origins of an item before you repurpose it for yourself, you never know who may need it!
In the case of Badger and the Great Rescue it's Mole who needs all these parts, as he is stuck up a tree after crashing his hot air balloon. That's right, all those parts fit together to make a balloon that may just be needed to rescue Mole. Can Badger and all his forest friends work together to get their short-sighted friend down from the tree?
There are works of children's fiction that feel cutting edge and of the day, whilst there are others that have a classic feel to them – almost like a simple walk through the countryside during the 1950s. Great Rescue has this nostalgic appeal with its sweet illustrations from Pedler and genuinely fun story from Chiew. The book works as it has a gentle build up. We don't discover that Mole is in jeopardy straight away, but instead visit several other forest friends as they decide what to do with the bits of material they have found. In this way the story is a little like a mystery novel, can your child work out what the pieces are before the story reveals it to them?
There is a nice message that runs through the book about sharing and working together. Although all the animals want part of the balloon for themselves, Badger says that they should share it evenly and when they discover Mole he persuades everyone to sacrifice their objects to help their friend. It is a very sweet story, well told, but some people may find it a little too twee. There is no edge to the book at all, it really is a gentle tale for a child who likes to look at pretty things and have a good story.
In keeping with this, the book is a little wordier than some books for sharing. It is suitable to read to any age, but it will be a slightly more confident reader who will tackle this one with you or by themselves. If you have a child who is starting to want to read along, a less complex book is probably best and save this one until they are a little older.
Having read a few of these classic-feeling books they can feel a little like slowly slipping into a bath of sugar water, but Great Rescue has a gripping tale that works alongside the plush illustrations to make a soft and cuddly feeling story that would work well as a bedtime story.
There is some great nostalgic style children's literature available including the lovely Belle & Boo and the Birthday Surprise by Mandy Sutcliffe, or Bear Counts by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Badger and the Great Rescue by Suzanne Chiew and Caroline Pedler at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Badger and the Great Rescue by Suzanne Chiew and Caroline Pedler at Amazon.com.
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