Punch!: A Story About Kindness
by Michael Hall; illus. by the author
Preschool, Primary    Greenwillow    40 pp.
4/25    9780062866219    $19.99

An angry badger faces surprising consequences for his bad behavior in this multilayered picture book. Badger—red-faced, glowering, and dressed in yellow shorts and tattered socks—pulls a mysterious wagon in and out of altercations with his animal peers. Badger trips, shoves, kicks, and pokes—each violent word jumping off the page in bold red text—before skulking off into the woods. His scowling victims then craft a three-part plan to chasten their volatile peer. Their revenge, however, takes a punny turn. In a close-up spread, an oversized, looming Bear hauls back to deliver a mighty “Punch!” to cowering Badger; but after the page-turn, the view pans out to reveal that the punch is the thirst-quenching kind, perfect for sharing. Hall’s appealing digital and painted-paper illustrations add to the gag—the blocky, collaged character art lending itself to both exaggerated facial expressions and ambiguous body language. As parts two and three of the plan unfold similarly—an offering of a “Belt!” and a “Sock!” to the disheveled Badger is especially amusing—another, more heart-rending story emerges. Details in the art reveal that Badger isn’t just grumpy, he’s grieving the death of a beloved friend. Witty and offbeat, this moral tale offers an uncommonly complex lesson in practicing empathy.

From the July/August 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.