MORGAN, Sally (text) Tania Erzinger (illus.) Feast for Wombat Omnibus, 2014 unpaged $24.99 ISBN 9781742990187 SCIS 1651669
This story is about a wombat who ventures out of his burrow only when he absolutely has to have a dust bath, no matter how lonely he has been feeling prior to that. He finds his friendly, talented, very special friends having a wonderful time: however, Wombat thinks they are a little too special to associate with him .
Morgan uses a wonderful combination of words in her story, such as when Wombat tells Magpie she sings like a ‘beautiful bubbling stream’ or Dingo that he dances ‘like the clouds’. Erzinger’s pictures are also pretty wonderful. I particularly liked: the stripes on the Goanna and the detail on his claws; a silent little mouse that appears now and again to react to Wombat’s attempts to be like his friends; the water splashing when Dingo jumps in and a winsome little frog that appears on Wombat’s head when he falls in the water. Suitable for children 4 and upwards, with notes for teachers on the Scholastic website.
reviewed by Katy Gerner