The first book, Wombat Walkabout by Carol Diggory Shields, is a counting poem that follows six wombats on a walkabout in the Australian outback. A hungry dingo decides the wombats will make a nice lunch and decides to follow them. Will the wombats be able to outsmart that dingo? The first time I read this book, I was very disturbed as the wombats began disappearing, but rest assured, the dingo does not eat any wombats! A child who does not know the outcome, however, may find this disturbing. C and R love to find the dingo hiding behind rocks and trees. They also love the appearance of a kookaburra. My favorite part of this book is this line of dialogue, "That bloke's got our mates". I try to say this in an Australian accent. I am not good at this at all, but it is fun for me! C and R do not even get it, which makes it more fun for me. My husband and oldest son, T, would be very embarrassed by my attempt.
We have also been reading Bobbie Dazzler by Margaret Wild. Bobbie is a wallaby that really wants to do a split, but just cannot seem to get all the way down (I can relate to this, just not that flexible). Her friends, wombat, possum, and koala all try to convince her that it does not matter, but it matters very much to Bobbie. With a lot of practice, eventually Bobbie and all of her friends learn how to do splits. This book has a good message and my children really enjoy the story.
R is in love with Australian animals right now, so these books make her very happy.
9 comments:
my husband travels to Oz a lot for work and always brings the kids home books. One of our faves is Diary Of A Wombat.
we love kerplatupus or something like that! another really cute one is Bounce!
Gidget loves to Bounce around the hosue and be a kangaroo!
I'll have to check those out I haven't heard of the last one. you get such neat books from the library!
We did Wombat Walkabout a few months ago! Madison LOVED that book!
http://funnydayswithmommyandmaddie.blogspot.com/2009/06/furry-little-friends.html
Oh, these books sound so fun. Both, I am going to see if our library has!
Have you read any books by Mem Fox--Wombat Divine in particular? Very cute!
And we just went to the library yesterday. I wish I'd seen this a day earlier.
Oh well, there really is something intriguing about Australia. I don't know why.
Sounds like fun books. I was just thinking today that I would want to start geography introductions with countries and not with states. It just sounds like so much fun to travel virtually around the globe. I am thinking of trying it out when Anna is about 3 and a half.
I love discovering new books. These both look adorable. I am going to go reserve them! Thanks for sharing!
We love Wombat Walkabout, but haven't read the other one yet....thanks for sharing!
if u want to read a good book for YOU about australia you should check out "in a sunburned country" by Bill Bryson. its a travel writing book but not dry @ all. he's very whitty and comical. such a fun book.
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