A Wombat's World

August 1, 2008
K-Gr 2-Each of these books describes one Australian mammal. Arnold opens with a brief entry stating where the mammal lives and its habitat, food, length, weight, animal class, and scientific name. Her narrative of a female's life from birthing preparations through raising the young cleverly contrasts with distinctly hued boxes of fast facts, such as the length of a platypus's burrow or size of a newborn wombat. Along the way, readers will also learn to identify other species in the biome, via captioned images. In both titles, the cut-paper illustrations in scenic spreads feature a night-time palette of indigo, olive, mocha, and burnt sienna. Back matter includes a map of the habitat, six fun facts, and instructions for accessing FactHound's site to research related topics. Visually engaging and brimming with data, these books are perfect for reports on these animals or the Australian continent."Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2008
As in other titles in the Caroline Arnolds Animals series, this introduction to wombats combines a narrative story with boxed facts about the animals. The uncluttered cut-paper collages and simple, straightforward text show and tell events in a wombats life over a years time, as she builds a burrow, mates, gives birth, and raises her young to independence. Very young children may need further explanation for a few references in the abbreviated text, such as how, exactly, marsupials nurse their young, but veteran-author Arnold gives a mostly clear, compelling sense of the lives and characteristics of these unique animals. A map, a few fun facts, and further reading close this picture-book title, which is sure to please young animal lovers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)