Badger's Fancy Meal

by Keiko Kasza Narrated by Mike Ferreri

Overview

Badger just can't face eating the same old apples, worms, and roots. They're too boring! He dreams of eating something new and fancy. Badger gets some yummy ideas from seeing the animals who live near his den, but the main ingredients he tries to catch aren't so eager to become his lunch. And in the end, they unwittingly convince Badger that he should have appreciated what he had in the first place.

Editorial Reviews

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2
Hapless Badger is no longer satisfied with his usual meal of apples, worms, and root vegetables, so he leaves his den (after a little whining) in search of a "fancy meal." In this sequential narrative, he nearly captures a mole, a rat, and a rabbit but, as fate would have it, they slip from his grasp. As Badger imagines a mole taco, a cheese-covered rat burger, and a rabbit banana split, he declares, "Now, that's what I call a fancy meal." Both pace and pitch are perfect: as Badger chases after another missed meal, the one he's just lost escapes down a hole that-you guessed it-happens to be his den. Children are allowed a sneak peek behind the scenes via a corner illustration of a faux folded-back page, displaying those that "got away," as they share a feast. And, of course, children won't miss the irony. When the happy animals depart, they leave a paw-signed thank-you note to their unknown host. The gouache illustrations are colorful and full of humorous expression. The story is excellent for reflection, explication, and retelling, not to mention the teaching of maxims and irony. Another bold, bright, and funny read-aloud to add to Kasza's canon.
—Teresa PfeiferCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Badger can't look another offering from storage bin or root cellar in the eye, let alone stomach the worms that crawl all over them. Said eye turns, as the eyes of badgers do, on his neighbors. Kasza knows his Badger-that baby face hides a grizzled personality, long of tooth and claw, beholden to none, disposed like a jumped rhino-and that he would be happy to turn a mouse into a taco, or a rat into a cheeseburger, or a rabbit into-why not?-a banana split. But each makes a fast getaway, zipping down the same convenient hole in the ground. In a clever design, as Badger loses his grip on his victim, the page looks as though it's peeling back to show how each lands in Badger's burrow. Badger meets his match in Horse, who kicks him all the way home, from which Mouse, Rat and Rabbit have just departed, after reducing Badger's larder to zero. They did, however, leave a thank-you note for the "fancy meal." A quick, comic yet enjoyably unexpurgated story about just deserts. (Picture book. 4-7)

From the Publisher

[A] wittily ironic tale. -Publishers Weekly

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169181180
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	06/26/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	Up to 4 Years

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