Mrs Badger is growing old but she still likes to follow her weekly routine of walking up the small mountain near her home. On the way she greets her friends - Frederick a white-throated bunting bird and Alexander a fox. If she sees a friend in need such as a small tortoise she is more than happy to lend a hand to flip him over. On the day of this story, though, someone is following Mrs Badger. It is a small ginger and white cat. With lots of care and beautiful encouragement Mrs Badger shows her new friend the way to the top of the mountain. Mrs Badger knows this walk is well worth the effort because the view from the "top of the world" is spectacular.
For many Sundays, after their first walk together, the new friends climb the mountain. As time passes, though, Mrs Badger finds the walk is becoming quite hard and so her young companion takes on a new role as helper and mentor, encouraging Mrs Badger over the final, difficult sections. Then one Sunday Mrs Badger decides to stay home. Leo sets out on his own but:
"When he comes back down again, he can't wait to tell Mrs Badger what he has found. And he brings her new treasures too."
The final scenes in this gentle and affirming book are so special. Take a look at the publisher pages from Book Island to see inside this book. I laughed when I discovered in the US (Kirkus review) this book is called Up the Mountain Path and Leo is renamed Lulu!
I would pair this book with Old Pig by Margaret Wild illustrated by Ron Brooks.
I have talked about another very special book my Marianne Dubuc in a previous post The Lion and the Bird:
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