Look at this animated version of the story. Could you create your own animated retelling of the book? The message is admirable and the cut-out cover enticing, but the greatest joy is in the comic expressions, hand-wrought images and witty detail. Sunday Times I laughed myself silly reading this one. I just could see what would happen to the forest, well OK I didn't totally expect that at the end, but I was close. :P Poor animals, I wonder why they didn't try harder to stop the badger. It was quite fun how it started with just cleaning here and there and then escalated to that.

Children might like to try use the Drop Box programme to try and make their own illustrations more detailed and entertaining.

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Look at photos of badgers (and other forest animals) and use these as the starting point for your own pictures and paintings.

Badgers feature in Wind in the Willows– Kenneth Graham, The Fantastic Mr. Fox– Roald Dahl, Badger’s Parting Gift –Susan Varley and Mr. Badger and the Big Surprise –Leigh Hobbs. None of the badgers in these books appear as active or irresponsible as Pete in Tidy, although wild badgers do go to some trouble to keep their sett clean and remove stale bedding away from any openings. It would be interesting to find out if any other behaviour traits found in the wild animals are also found in the fictional badgers. Technique in creating illustrations in picture books.After really enjoying Meerkat Mail, I decided to look at some of Emily Gravett's other work. Contrasting MM, this is a very simple story, most suitable for EYFS (but still wouldn't be out of place in a KS1 book corner). A badger named Pete loves to clean the forest - to the extent that he chops it all down and replaces it with concrete, so it can never get messy ever again. But he realises that he's gone too far - both he and other animals rely on the forest. Together, they re-build it, and from now on Pete decides that only the actual rubbish should be put in the bin. A hilarious book about a badger with a big cleaning problem and what happens when things go out of hand. Emily Gravett's engaging woodland creatures will appeal to fans of such classics as The Animals of Farthing Wood and The Wind in the Willows and the rhythmic, rhyming text is perfect for reading aloud. About This Edition ISBN:

Julia Eccleshare, the editorial expert on Lovereading4kids says, Prize-winning illustrator Emily Gravett’s distinctive illustrations are always full of wit bringing the unexpected into stories and injecting them all with delightful humour. There’s magic in Spells as a frog turns himself into a handsome prince – well, almost!, excellent advice for rabbits on how to spot the danger of wolves in Wolves, lots of useful tips on how to be braver than you feel in Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears, a thoughtful exploration of how home often turns out to be best despite feelings of wanderlust in Meerkat Mail, a celebration of exuberant movement in Monkey and Me and a fresh and delightful look at Dogs.Carry out some role-play activities based on the book, e.g. interview the other forest animals to ask them what they think about Pete’s actions. This book is also about the impact humans have on the world. It has no words and uses beautifully created collage to show the progress of a scene from a window showing creeping urbanisation, over a period of possibly twenty years. The attention to detail is fascinating and the message, like the other books, is about our own part in the impact on the environment and the changes we might need to make. Badger Characters in children’s literature. Before you start to read the story aloud take time to look at the end papers and talk about what you both can see and what the story might be about. Read the story aloud, pausing now and then to talk about what Pete is doing and what might happen next. Join in