Review: Bad Badger

By Maryrose Wood

Illustrated by Giulia Ghigini

New York: Union Square Kids, 2025. 179 pages.

Septimus is a bad badger, meaning he isn’t very good at being a badger. He likes things that most normal badgers don’t (such as living in a cottage by the sea or eating omelets). However, he is also very good at other things (like being a good friend to Gully, the seagull that comes and visits him every Wednesday evening). When Gully goes missing, Septimus decides he must venture out to find her. And at the same time, he confronts all the various parts of himself and decides if he is really a bad badger or a good badger and a good friend.

This is a great story for fans of The One and Only Ivan or other good animal friendship books to read. Septimus is a great (dare I say good) character who readers will cheer on as he decides sand in his fur is worth the cost of finding his friend. Plus, the illustrations are great fun (as well as being helpful for understanding what a “spotted” badger is instead of a “striped” one).

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