*Rock Paper Incisors by Amy Timberlake

In Rock Paper Incisors, Skunk and Badger add two rambunctious rats to their household.

*Rock Paper Incisors by Amy Timberlake, illustrated by Jon Klaasen. Little, Brown, 2025, 174 pages.

• Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10
• Recommended for: ages 4-10

Big events have happened since Badger and his roommate Skunk learned to rub along together as contrasting yet compatible personalities (with chickens). Their second adventure, Egg Marks the Spot, took them on a rock-hunting expedition that turned up an actual dinosaur egg! And more chickens. That adventure also introduced Rat Guild 73: a team of construction experts who work mostly underground. But one member of the Guild unfortunately met her demise, leaving Skunk and Badger obliged to raise her two progeny, Zeno and Zephr.

If adjusting to Skunk as a roommate was a challenge, imagine Badger dealing with two very lively juvenile rats! Who would rather not sleep at night. Who get up to the most unexpected exploits, like turning the kitchen into a zipline jungle and taking all the labels off the cans. Even Skunk finds his placid nature shredded: “OUT! While I clean up the kitchen IN PEACE!” The two friends seek advice at the local bookstore, but all they can find on the subject is a book titled You’ve Got Rats!, which tells them what they already know. To add to the pressure, Badger has a deadline: his Very Important Article for Rock Hound Weekly is due in a week and he must focus focus FOCUS.

Any parent who remembers life with active toddlers will be able to relate, and many of those same toddlers will enjoy the rats’ antics (as long as they don’t get any ideas). Badger’s understanding of millions and billions of years of earth’s evolution (related to his Important Rock Work) may need a bit of explaining but won’t interfere with the fun. There’s even a heartwarming payoff when Badger discovers his inner parent:

Emotions raked through him – startling and sharp, mixed up, bristling, overwhelming. There was a rush of caring, only more enfolding, more protective. He found he couldn’t stand the thought of the rats experiencing one more moment of hardship . . . Badger longed for the rats’ joy and laughter, and for each of them to have good, productive work every day of their rat lives.

Anyone who reads this book aloud may want to practice the numerous sound effects ahead of time; otherwise, just plunge in and enjoy. And yes, there are chickens.

Bottom Line: A delightful installment in the Skunk and Badger series, reinforcing the value of friendship and bearing with one another.

Also at Redeemed Reader:

• Reviews:  Another Amy Timberlake favorite of ours is The Dirty Cowboy. Also, see our Newbery Buzz discussion of the original Skunk and Badger.
• Review: See our roundup of multicultural chapter books: Yasmin, Kayla, and Mindy Kim.
• Resource: Looking for worthy Chapter-book friends? Betsy has thoughts. We cover this idea more fully in our book, The Redeemed Reader.

Order Rock Paper Incisors from Amazon.