Septimus is a fastidious, solitary badger living in a little cottage by the sea. Because he has spots instead of typical badger stripes on his nose, prefers the seaside to the traditional forest habitat of badgers, and likes drinking tea and listening to opera, he considers himself a “bad badger.” Sometimes he wonders if he even is a badger. Septimus’s first foray into friendship is with a seagull who starts hanging out on his porch, although Gully doesn’t say much. Septimus mostly infers his new friend’s feelings. All seems well until two outings lead to rough spots: Septimus’s choice of a tandem bike seems inconsiderate of his winged companion in retrospect, while a trip to the beach is eye-opening for Septimus as he watches Gully swoop gracefully over the sea, but it’s also annoyingly sandy. Despite Gully’s gift of a shell for Septimus’s collection, Septimus worries that they don’t have enough in common to be friends. A quirky, tender story full of laugh-out-loud moments (Septimus’s motto: “Badger safe than sorry”) and important revelations about friendship and identity (e.g., it turns out that Septimus’s spots are “well within the parameters of badgerhood”) is full of sweet and satisfying surprises. The occasional full-page black-and-white illustrations brim with warmth and charm. (Ages 7-10)

For fans of Odder and Skunk and Badger comes a heartwarming story of an unlikely friendship between a gull and a badger.

Septimus is not good at being a badger. He adores the sunset. He dreams of going to Venice. And he lives alone in a charming cottage by the sea. He’s not unhappy with his tidy, solitary life, but there are times when being so bad at badgerdom makes him wonder if he’s even a badger at all.

When a gull of very few words lands on the windowsill, Septimus leaps at the possibility of friendship. However, his new confidant soon goes missing and Septimus is bereft. Determined to find his best—and only—friend, he ventures into new territory and encounters a cast of surprising characters. Can Septimus be as brave and bighearted as he’ll need to be to find Gully? Or is he really a bad badger after all?

Bad Badger is a young middle-grade novel about badgers, gulls, and learning that staying true to yourself means knowing who you are to begin with.