Honey Badger Don’t Care – But Randall Does

Book: Honey Badger Don’t Care: Randall’s Guide to Crazy, Nastyass Animals
Reviewed by: Julie

First of all, if you haven’t watched the famous Honeybadger video, do so now:

Okay, now we can talk.

How do you take a viral YouTube video and turn it into a successful book? Marcel the Shell did it (with beautiful artwork and the delightful imaginations of Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer-Camp) and now here we have Randall putting his famous Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger on the page. In Randall’s case, the answer to success seems simple – you take this juggernaut way beyond Honey Badgers, baby.

Tasmanian Devils, Emperor Tamarins, Wombats, Pink  Fairy Armadillos – Randall gets down and dirty with all kinds of nasty ass animals. And while this book is chock full of fascinating facts about the lives and habits of these nasty creatures that any nature-loving youngster would eat right up, this book is definitely NOT suited for children. Randall drops f-bombs as casually as a Honey Badger trots in slow motion. Funny, yes, but inappropriate for impressionable young readers and also probably some grandparents.

While Honey Badger may not care about most things, Randall does care about plenty. In his handwritten introduction, where hearts dot all of his i’s, he says, “Peace, love, and the protection and care of animals, through education and comedy: That is my mission.”

If that heartwarming explanation of why Randall does what he does isn’t enough for you, then you can take also Lucy Lawless’ blurb for it: “The YouTube generation is hungry for knowledge in fatuous bite-sized pieces, and Randall is just the man to deliver. Go, Randall!”

Go Randall, indeed. Randall is going on book tour for Honey Badger Don’t Care. You can come down to the store on Wednesday, April 11 at 7p and hear Randall read from his new book in person, which is probably the best way to appreciate the true spirit of the work, as well as to celebrate the bad-assery of these animals. Those Pink Fairy Armadillos, man, they’re cute and nasty all at once. I had no idea.