Like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day.
Old friends return with new wards in this beloved series.
What do a skunk and a badger know about raising baby rats? Surprisingly little. In this third installment in the Skunk and Badger series—following Egg Marks the Spot (2021)—events have led the titular roommates to welcome the young rats Zephyr and Zeno into their home this winter. At first all goes swimmingly, with Badger convinced that he has time to write his first article for Rock Hound Weekly. Unfortunately, soon the rats are constructing zip lines, barrel racing, and launching unexpected—and unasked-for—scavenger hunts while their exhausted guardians clean up. As Badger stresses over his article, Skunk calls in reinforcements in the form of his chicken friends. But when Badger accidentally hibernates at just the wrong moment, is disaster inevitable? Readers enchanted by previous installments will have no difficulty following the duo’s further adventures, though newcomers would be wise to start at the series’ beginning. Badger’s focus on his rock work feels particularly adult at times, yet Timberlake’s descriptions of his obsessions often result in lovely prose (“The land is a book written by a glacier”). Distractions aside, the beating heart of the series remains the friendship between seemingly gruff Badger and sunny Skunk. Capturing snowfall and cozy scenes indoors, Klassen’s accompanying art imbues the storytelling with both a classic feel and an understated wit.
Like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter day. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9781643750071
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2025
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic.
A loyal black kitten’s boy is under supernatural attack.
Eleven-month-old Nimbus loves Fletcher, the boy who nursed her back to health following life-threatening injuries. When Fletcher becomes curious about a strange jar and opens it, releasing a terrible goblin, loyal Nim protects Fletcher, taking heavy damage in the process. But Fletcher’s aunt, who’s caring for him over spring break, believes Nim attacked Fletcher and dumps her far from home. Rhett, a stylish rat with star quality, befriends injured Nim and leads her to a witch’s house. While the witch cares for Nim, the witch’s cats (maternal Fern, bookish Rochester, standoffish Bianca, and openly hostile Abraxas) teach Nim important cat skills. She also discovers she has a supernatural ability: In destroying one eye of the nightmare demon in the fight to protect Fletcher, Nim gained its “dream sight.” But she also learns it might come back for Fletcher, who no longer has Nim to protect him, posing a time-sensitive, high-stakes threat. Even though the witch’s home is nice and magic itself seems to be telling her to stay put, Nim wants to find a way back to Fletcher. As a hero, Nimbus is as gritty and determined as she is adorable. Tear-jerker moments explore pet abandonment—readers may want their own pets on hand to hug—all the way through the magical, action-packed finale. Fletcher and the witch read white.
A deeply imaginative journey that puts the “cat” in cathartic. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780062680372
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
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