Wombat and Fox : the whole story by Terry Denton

Wombat and Fox series. Allen and Unwin, 2017. ISBN 9781760294359
(Age 6-9) Recommended. Theme: Humour. This large book contains the three tales of Wombat and Fox published separately over the past several years, Tales of the city, Summer in the city and Thrillseekers. The stories are about two friends, Wombat and Fox who get into all sorts of mischief, especially when teamed with their friends, Croc, Bandicoot, the Hippo sisters and the Five Monkeys, the latter always good for a special mix of adventure.
After the contents page, the group of friends is introduced, and then the mayhem starts with Monkey and Fox having adventures. I enjoyed A hot night in the city, one of the three stories in the book, Tales of the city. In this the pair decides to go to the seaside during a particularly hot spell in the city. They must takes a bus and being novices, let many buses go by before they realise that any one of them would take them to the beach. But when they get on the bus they find that another of their friends, Crocodile is headed in the same direction, but one thing is there to ruin their holiday, the Five Monkeys,their frenemies.
The running battle between the friends and the monkeys ends harmoniously when all at sea, the penguins come to their aid. All of the stories in this tome are similarly funny and based in things that lower primary people know, all punctuated with Denton's recognisable drawings, giving a background of the familiar and homely. Kids will enjoy the stories which includes the banter between the group, their shifting relationships and friendships, taking risks and their exploration of their surroundings. There is a lot to like and the accompanying illustrations add another level of humour to an already very funny set of stories.
Fran Knight