Here's the story of a lovely vixen
Who was bringing up one very lovely kit.
Yes that girl had hair of red, like her mother,
The dad's been gone a bit.

Here's the story, of a boar named Edmund,
Who was busy with three boys of his own,
They were badgers, living all together,
Yet they were all alone.

Till the one day when the vixen met this badger
And they knew it was much more than a hunch,
That this group must somehow form a family.
That's the way we all became Fox-Badger Bunch.

Fox-Badger Bunch,
Fox-Badger Bunch,
That's the way we became Fox-Badger Bunch.

So yes, it's nice to see a children's comic about a blended family as a divorced fox pairs up with a widower badger in the forest, but its a bit dull for an older reader. This first outing mostly focuses on the kids clashing until they are united by a desire to split up their parents. But, you know, plans go awry.

Apparently this is popular in its home country of France, where it has inspired two spin-off book series featuring the kids and a 96-episode animated show under the title, "La famille Blaireau Renard." I hope their theme song writer had the same idea I did . . . ( )

Monsieur Blaireau vit dans un terrier avec ses trois enfants. Un jour Madame Renarde et sa fille pénètrent dans leur "maison", en quête d'un nouveau foyer. Commence alors une cohabitation entre les deux familles... Une nouvelle série clairement destinée à un public de jeunes lecteurs (dès 4 ans) par deux auteures venues de l'édition jeunesse. Un "bonbon" savoureux à déguster.
Cet album se distinguera par une fabrication soignée à la façon d'un livre jeunesse.

5 tomes ( )

Again (see my review of [b:Peace and Quiet|13641445|Peace and Quiet (Mr. Badger and Mrs. Fox #4)|Brigitte Luciani|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1355046248s/13641445.jpg|19256367]) lovely illustrations, but I can't help but wonder whether something is amiss with the translation of the text. The dialogue doesn't have any of the charm of the pictures, and at times it's more than a bit annoying. On one hand the message of the books may be to promote understandings between siblings, in particular in a blended family, but beware parents that the siblings in this series are constantly bickering, and it gets a little old. ( )

Mrs. Fox and her daughter Ginger have lost their home, but when they meet Mr. Badger and his three children, Mr. Badger invites them to stay. The four children (three badgers and one fox) are decidedly unhappy about this change. Sure that foxes and badgers could never get along, they have a plan to prove it...but then their plan backfires! A story of blended families coming together and working through their differences.

This beginning graphic series would be of interest to a 1st-3rd grader, and especially to one reluctant to move from picture books to chapter books. The art is soft and lovely and the characters are drawn with clear personalities that still manage to hold their animal selves (while they do walk 'upright', they still are badger and fox shaped).

Recommended. ( )

Mr. Badger has three children Grub, Bristle and Berry, the baby. They all live together happily in an underground home. One day the burrow that Mrs. Fox and her daughter Ginger live in is destroyed by a farmer. They have nowhere to stay and Mr. Badger welcomes them into his home. After a while Mr. Badger and Mrs. Fox decide to make the living situation permanent, they have fallen in love! The children agree think that badgers and foxes SHOULD NOT live together, they are simply to different. Despite their dislike for each other, they hatch a plan to thwart the adults decision. Working together on the BIG PLAN, however, ends up bringing up the new family together. A beautifully drawn graphic novel, that is the size of a picture book. ( )