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The Meeting

by Brigitte Luciani
32p. 978-0-76135-625-7.
COPY ISBN
Gr 1-3 This picture-book-size graphic novel involves two single-parent animal familiesMr. Badger, his two sons Bristle and Grub, and baby daughter Berry; and Mrs. Fox and her daughter Ginger. After hunters destroy the Foxes' home, the adults meet and decide to share a burrow. Not happy with this arrangement, Bristle, Grub, and Ginger organize an open-house party to convince their parents that badgers and foxes should not live together. The story has enough action to keep readers' interest and a dramatic resolution. The theme of children in blended families is well developed without being didactic. With some help from adults, beginning-level readers will be able to read the comic-style text balloons and follow the panels. The soft watercolor illustrations evoke the summer forest setting and move the story along. A good start to a new series."Marilyn Ackerman, Brooklyn Public Library, NY" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.
Badgers Bristle and Grub aren't pleased when Papa, a widower, invites Mrs. Fox and her daughter to share their burrow. (Think The Brady Bunch recast with cutesy woodland animals.) The kids hatch a scheme to demonstrate that "badgers and foxes are not made to live together." The overly purposeful story is accompanied by spirited cartoon-panel illustrations; the translation from French is frequently clunky.

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