The beach wombat by Susannah Chambers
Illus. by Mark Jackson. Allen and Unwin, 2019. ISBN: 9781760631857.
(Age: 4+) Highly recommended. Themes: Wombats, Australian animals,
Beach, National Parks, Wilson's Promontory. This charming tale of a
young wombat exploring his environment has instant appeal. Its
simple rhyming structure will draw in the readers as they predict
the rhyming words and learn the lines with its wonderful use of
alliteration adding to the fun.
Sea, sand, sun and smoke figure prominently during the morning as
the wombat baby and mother wander along the beach, eventually
becoming rain, twilight, starlight and moonlight as evening draws
near. Adventure at the beginning and end of each day sees them
trying to get the sand out of their fur, running to get the smoke
from their eyes, sheltering from the rain with other animals and
finally finding a place to rest.
At the national park, we see the interaction between human and
animals, as each goes about their activities separately, not
intruding on the other, each making use of the environment, although
the fire gives a nod to the negative impact of humans. The
illustrations are wonderful, showcasing this lovely Australian
marsupial in its natural setting. It coexists with others:
kangaroos, pygmy possums, crabs, gulls, spiders, frogs and birds,
and its day is set against the Australian bush with its scrubby
trees, large buttress trees, ferns and coastal rock formations.
Readers will enjoy looking at the range of Australian landscapes
presented, and thrill when the endpapers reveal a map of the
wombats' journey, which they can follow with ease.
Wonderful to read aloud, allowing the listeners to predict the
rhyming word, readers will ask for it to be read again and again,
poring over the informative illustrations, learning more about their
natural environment as they read and look. I love the small touches
of humans: a fence post, a plastic shovel, a bucket on the sand, one
whole page depicting a family on the beach, but in the main, the
beach belongs to the animals.
Fran Knight