Proper Badger Would Never by Lauren Glattly (review)

Reviewed by: Proper Badger Would Never by Lauren Glattly Jessie Maimone Glattly, Lauren Proper Badger Would Never!; illus. by Rob Sayegh Jr. Flamingo/Penguin, 2024 40p Trade ed. ISBN 9780593528167 18. 99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780593528174 10. 99 Reviewed from digital galleys R 3-6 yrs Badger has never been to a party, but when a stray invitation flies out of a mailbox and into his path, he wrongfully assumes the human birthday girl would love for him to be her guest. While the unseen narrator tells of Badger being the perfect partygoer in his dapper jacket and bowtie, the collage-esque illustrations tell a completely different story, one of havoc and mayhem. Who would have raked their claws through the uncut cake or who might have bitten the family dog on the nose? Slightly scandalized but with tongue firmly in cheek, the narrator insists that it couldn't possibly be Badger, because he's too proper to do any of those things. The bold color choices and cartoonish figures strike a nice balance of menace and whimsy, enhancing a Klassen-like ending where it's implied Badger might have retaliated just a smidge when he was asked to leave the party. A story perfect for lap time, this gives little readers the opportunity to find—and then surely giggle at—discrepancies between the story they hear and the action happening in the illustrations. Copyright © 2024 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois