Wombat

by Philip Bunting (Author) Philip Bunting (Illustrator)

Reading Level: K − 1st Grade
Fans of You Loves Ewe's witty wordplay and Jon Klassen's wry illustrations will love this playful picture book packed with wombats, twobats, threebats, and morebats! From wombat to squarebat to roundbat, and longbat--no bat is left out in this silly and sweet marsupial love story. Quirky, playful text paired with simple, humorous illustrations makes for a hilarious repeat read that both kids and parents can enjoy. A perfect story time selection, Wombat will leave littlebats, middlebats, and whopperbats alike giggling and begging for . . . morebats!
Select format:
Hardcover
$17.99

Kirkus

Fall in love with wombats.

Bunting's digitally rendered, cut-paper cartoon art depicts an adorable, squat brown animal who peers out at readers on the first page. Each page contains a simple but playful illustration of one or more wombats, set against a solidly colored background, and a short, pun-based description beneath. A daring and darling wombat does a handstand on a ball ("Acrobat"), while two others talk on cellphones ("Chit." "Chat"). Some wombats are just plain silly, like the one eating a doughnut ("Om-nom-nombat") or the "Fallendownaholebat" (accompanied by an illustration of the creature on its back), but others introduce basic skills. There are wombats to count ("Wombat. Twobats. Threebats. Morebats"), shapes to name ("Squarebat. Roundbat. Longbat"), and primary colors to recognize ("Redbat. Yellowbat. Bluebat"). More advanced concepts include emotions ("Happybat. Grumpybat") and directions ("Leftbat. Rightbat"). Making the read-aloud even more fun are some internal rhymes later in the book ("Wrongbat. Songbat"). There is some potty humor--a close-up of a wombat posterior and some freshly deposited droppings ("Stinkbat")--and adults might need to explain what a cricket bat is. A string of images at the very end of the book depicting two lovestruck wombats who form a family is especially clever and heartwarming ("Likebat. Lovebat. Thisbat. Thatbat. Madeanotherwombat").

Readers will go batty for this one. (Picture book. 2-5)

Review quotes

 
Philip Bunting
Philip Bunting is an author and illustrator whose work deliberately encourages playful interaction between the reader and child, allowing his books to create a platform for genuine intergenerational engagement and fun. Philip's books have been translated into multiple languages and published in over thirty countries around the world. Since his first book was published in 2017, Philip has received multiple accolades, including Honours from the Children's Book Council of Australia and making the list for the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2018. He lives with his young family on Queensland's Sunshine Coast.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781623543914
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Charlesbridge Publishing
Publication date
June 13, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV019000 - Juvenile Fiction | Humorous Stories
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV009080 - Juvenile Fiction | Concepts | Words
Library of Congress categories
Humorous stories
Picture books
Picture books for children
Wombats
Humorous fiction

Subscribe to our delicious e-newsletter!