Sarah L. Thomson (text) and Charles Santoso (illustrator), Wombat Underground, Hachette, January 2022, 32 pp., RRP $26.99 (hbk), ISBN 9780316707060
Inspired by online stories of wombats welcoming other animals into their burrows to take shelter from fire during the 2019-2020 Australian bushfires, Sarah L. Thomson takes readers on the journey from the wombat’s perspective.
Readers are introduced to the Australian landscape and other native animals which are warmly captured in Charles Santoso’s illustrations that include many layers and viewpoints. The story and pictures create a sense of calm as wombat digs a burrow and wallaby, skink and echidna explore their surrounds. Until the change of pace with the thunderstorm and the urgency the fire creates. Panic sets in for the animals as they flee and realise they have no escape or safe place to go, until wombat welcomes them into the safety of his burrow.
The author’s note provides some insight into Australia’s fire season, along with some information about Australia’s wildlife. The illustrations on these pages share the devastating aftermath of the bushfire in the story with the animals safely emerging from wombat’s burrow to a very different landscape following the fire.
Living in and growing up in rural Gippsland this is a story that is all too familiar to myself and my family and highlights the importance of community and being there for each other during times of need.
Reviewed by Raquel Mayman
