Diary of a Wombat

by Jackie French

Book Overview

Wombats are cuddly-looking, slow-moving Australian animals. Their favorite activities are eating, sleeping, and digging holes. Here, in the words of one unusually articulate wombat, is the tongue-in-cheek account of a busy week; eating, sleeping, digging holes . . . and training its new neighbors, a family of humans, to produce treats on demand. This entertaining book, with its brief, humorous text and hilarious illustrations, will endear the wombat...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0618381368
• ISBN13: 9780618381364
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 11.8" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 4 to 7 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 2

Customer Reviews

An absolute delight

I bought this book for a friend's son. He's seven, and reads at a higher level than is normal for his age, so this book didn't pose much of a literary challenge for him. He totally loved the book! At last count, he'd read it six times aloud, to everyone. (I don't know if they're contemplating sending it back. ;)) It's a really adorable book, and Bruce Whatley's drawings really bring Mothball (the wombat) to life, with her little rolled up tummy rats when she curls up and her little wombat eyes. This book is sure to bring a smile to any reader's face.

A fun book for all ages

I first saw this book in a small bookstore. Since it was short I asked my 12 year old to read it to my 6 year old. Before we knew it we were surrounded by both kids and adults listening to this adorable tale of a wombat's daily life. Quite a few copies were sold due to that reading! I have even requested that my local library buy it. (They have) The story is droll, the pictures are adorable. Well worth the price!

Precious illustrations, laugh-out-loud story

This is an extremely short and easy read, but what a hoot. The illustrations are to die for. The artist really nailed it with the Wombat illustrations, and while wombats are adorable without the help of people, the illustrations really bring out the personality of this Australian native.Behaving much like a spoiled dog, Wombat gets in all sorts of messes trying to get his new human neighbors to accommodate him. In a very subtle way, the book indicates that these are wild animals - no one pets the wombat... but food magically appears for him.I literally laughed out loud while reading by myself. You could almost just reach right in the book and pinch the cheeks on that little fur ball.Children (and adults) will love looking at the illustrations of the contented, sleeping wombat, as well as those that depict him as sometimes curious and innocently mischievious.This is also a great way to introduce an animal that a lot of kids may never see (unless they live Down Under) in a zoo or even on TV, and a good way to open a discussion on how animals (wild animals, and even household pets) have their own unique personalities and different behaviors than people.

My 3 year old daughter's favorite book

We've barrowed this book from the library 3 times and renewed it 3 times. Now it is time to own one. We've lived in Australia for a while and we'd seen this cute nocturnal creature. My 3yr old daughter who was born in Canberra, Australia is the one who is so fascinated with the story. The book is very unique and it is well written for a young minds understanding. The pictures are great!

Don't pat the wombat!

Until I read this book I had never seen a dedication in a picture book in which the illustrator thanked the author. Yet lo and behold, at the beginning of "Diary of a Wombat" read the words, "Thanks for letting me play, Jackie. This was fun", signed by illustrator Bruce Whatley. He's not wrong either. The book is a heaping helpful of fun, starring a cuddly adorable little wombat and her low key adventures. Having been published at the same time as the similarly titled (and, in my humble opinion, less impressive) book, "Diary of a Worm", "Diary of a Wombat" never really received the praise and adoration it so rightly deserved. To me, this book is the perfect balance of cute and sly (a difficult mixture indeed). We follow our heroine, a rolly-polly little unnamed wombat as she goes about her days. For a wombat, life doesn't consist of much more than sleeping, munching on some grass, and sleeping again. The first few days we spend with the wombat proceed at about this pace. All that changes when the wombat acquires some new human neighbors. A family of wide-eyed Australians first meet the little creature when she decided to use their picnic area as her own personal dustbath. Please note the shocked lovebirds perched on a nearby birdbath. As the days go by the wombat slowly but surely teaches her humans to feed her carrots as well as oats. By the end, she comes to the undeniable conclusion that, "humans are easily trained and make quite good pets". I can't imagine a single objection that could be successfully lobbied against this tale. Let us consider, first of all, the wombat herself. Think of a teddy bear with a slightly larger nose and I think you'll have a rough idea of what I'm describing here. The wombat is incapable, it seems, of anger or malicious intent. All the damage she does comes from a self-absorbed sense of what is best for herself. Wet laundry in the way? Get rid of it. Humans not feeding you lately? Make a ruckus with their metal garbage can. She is drawn particularly realistically, which of course makes her all the funnier. It is a relief that the humans have not yet taken steps to rid themselves of this particularly intense and likable little pest. Who can resist her half-closed eyes as she chews contentedly on a freshly grown carrot? Not only does Jackie French tell her tale with just the right amount of humor and timing but Bruce Whatley outdoes himself with his whimsical illustrations. Wombats never had it so good. If you're looking for something cute but witty, that treads between the humorous and the tragic with fantastic results (not to mention being more than a little kid-friendly), then I present for your reading enjoyment, and the enjoyment of your peers/children, "Diary of a Wombat".