I saw the cover of Heavy Metal Badger, and was OMG that is SO for a friend of mine. And then realized their kids probably were too old for a picture book. But then I thought, “Who cares? That is SO their kids!” So, now you know my friend has Heavy Metal Badger kids, who like to rock out and be themselves. Just like Duncan Beedie’s main Badger, who is a rocker, loves to rock out, and with trial and error finds their band, their tribe of people.
Beedie also illustrated things. And things are organized chaos. The colors and details fit the feeling and tone of the story. There are a lot of puns (Ant-thrax poster), and if I am not mistaken, there are a few homages to one royal lead singer. It is clever, goofy, silly and serious fun. A lot is going on, but it is straightforward as well.
The rhyming text makes it great for the younger reader, or the one who is with help reading solo. It can be up to about grades first to second, due to the theme, but the format might turn some readers who are older off. Due mid-October 2023 I read this book via an online reader copy. And even though it is a picture book, I think my friends’ kiddos need copies of their own. As it is as clever of a story as those three are. And you need to give this book as gifts, give a copy to your child’s classroom and copies to all of the libraries you have in your life. Plus copies for yourself (and a spare after it is read to tatters). And if you are a fan of the Punk Farm series by Jarrett J. Krosoczka, Heavy Metal Badger would be a great companion (I know as I gave Punk Farm to the same friend whom you “meet” at the start of my review for the baby shower of their first offspring).