Things start out badly for accidental roommates Skunk and Badger and only get worse in this sweet Indie Next List pick featuring an all-new literary theme--badger meets skunk, badger loses skunk, badger gets skunk back. Amy Timberlake writes with whimsical humor reminiscent of A.A. Milne and Arnold Lobel, which is reinforced by Jon Klassen's splendid illustrations; they build a world that is both authentic and fantastically original.
Skunk and Badger--like so many of their literary odd-couple predecessors--take a while to truly connect. In fact, thanks to an excruciating pileup of prejudice and miscommunication, the two overcome the biggest bumps in their road to friendship only as book one in the proposed trilogy comes to a close. Luckily, Edgar Award winner and Newbery Honoree Timberlake (One Came Home) and Caldecott and Greenaway medal-winner Klassen (This Is Not My Hat; Sam and Dave Dig a Hole) have no intention of letting this hard-won friendship fade away. --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor