Sophie Gillies (text) and Karen Erasmus (illustrator), Wombat Poos are Square, CSIRO Publishing, April 2025, 32 pp., RRP $26.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781486318759
CSIRO Publishing has done it again with this informative picture book for younger readers all about animal faeces. There does not appear to have been a children’s non-fiction book about animal scats for quite some time and this attractive rhyming title introduces the subject in an amusing way.
The distinctive excrement of various Australian creatures is briefly introduced throughout the book with more detailed information at the end. Several mammals, birds, reptiles, insects and marine animals are shown, with the phrase, And wombat poos are square repeated. The text rhymes well and would read aloud well, probably causing fits of laughter in young listeners.
The colourful illustrations are either full single pages or double-page spreads with the animals drawn in a friendly manner, although the Tasmanian devil looks a little vampirish. The cream endpapers are covered with small versions of illustrations from the book and the last different animal mentioned is the very important dung beetle – for obvious reasons!
The book ends with the More about Poo section mentioned above and a glossary, with teaching notes available on the publisher’s website.
Reviewed by Lynne Babbage
