Hello, friends! Our book today is Tidy by Emily Gravett, a cautionary tale of a well-meaning badger and his penchant for neatness.

Pete the Badger likes to make sure things are neat and tidy, and the fact that he lives in the forest isn’t going to stop him. He makes sure to scrub and polish each rock and tree, washes and grooms his fellow animals (much to their discomfort), even vacuums the forest floor! So naturally when autumn rolls around, and the leaves litter the ground, Pete is sent into a tizzy. He rakes and bags every last leaf, but now the trees look too spindly and bare. But Pete’s got a way to fix that: he digs up all the trees and leaves the forest barren, which is easy to keep neat – until the first rain, when it floods and turns to mud. No problem, Pete will simply pave over the forest floor with concrete… but now the forest isn’t looking much like a home for Pete or his friends any more. Pete will have to learn that messing with his habitat can cause a havoc, and that sometimes a little mess is what makes a home.

This was a clever story that slyly uses its silly story to explore some serious environmental concerns. Pete’s obsession with cleanliness is a great way to explore the very real cost of messing with natural habitats, as well as showing what can happen if someone is so intent on perfection that they lose sight of the necessity of balance. The rhyming text is fun to read, and works well with the allegorical nature of the story. The illustrations are as amusing yet frank as they need to be, and are filled with Gravett’s signature charm. The length is great, JJ enjoyed it, and this one was an enjoyable read overall. Baby Bookworm approved!