Diary of a Wombat (Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards)) by Jackie French Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Diary of a Wombat (Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards))
Book Review: My 3 year old daughter's favorite book
Summary: 5 Stars
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!Book Review: My favorite picture book!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this book for my nephew because I simply LOVE it! I think it's about the cutest thing ever. I would totally reccomend it to anyone of any age!Book Review: Precious illustrations, laugh-out-loud story
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Book Review: Seven shades of brilliant.
Summary: 4 Stars
Jackie French, Diary of a Wombat (Clarion, 2003)
As unseemly as it may be for a thirty-seven-year-old man, I've read a lot of kids' books in my time. And not just when I was knee high to a grasshopper, either; I still read them. I have, for example, an inordinate fondness for badgers, and read all sorts of books about them, including kids' books. The same, for reasons that would take far too long to relate, holds true for wombats, so Jackie French's Diary of a Wombat was a no-brainer. In general, I look at recent kids' books (and, were I to admit the truth to myself, probably a large number of those I read as a kid) and wonder why adult writers didn't figure out as kids that subtle humor really does work on the younger set. Thankfully, some writers either figured it out or are just naturally more subtle than others. Praise Jackie French to the highest skies for bringing together wombats and really, really good humor in one volume.
I haven't laughed out loud while reading a kids' book in months, if not years. I can't remember doing so more than once at any kids' book I've read in the past decade, and it's rare when I read adult novels, too. Diary of a Wombat, once it gets rolling (you'll notice it starts off slow; the kids won't), had me in stitches. French plays every joke as if the wombat is his own straight man (he is, of course, being a wombat), and it works marvelously. You don't have an anthropomorphized character here; the wombat is a wombat, pure and simple. (Except he seems to know how to write well enough to keep a diary.) It's his simple reactions to the obstacles in his way that make this such a fun read; it's worlds away from those old Warner Brothers cartoons where Wile E. Coyote devises Rube Goldberg-esque plans to get around his obstacles, and all the funnier for that.
Wonderful. Your kids need a copy of this. If you don't have kids, you need a copy of this. ****
Book Review: Terrific illustrations
Summary: 5 Stars
I smile every time I look at the illustrations. Very cute tongue-in-cheek story. I bought the book mainly because I liked it but as a bonus my 5 year old also says it's her favorite book.