Wombats Can't Fly

Michael Dugan (text)

Jane Burrell (illus)

Random House, Australia: 1996

ISBN: 0091829380

Genres: humour, picture book

The third in the Wombats series sees the young wombats looking for adventure. They find something shiny and stow it away. Put together with other found objects, they're sure they can create something to enable them to fly.

Their parents and grandparents dismiss their idea as pure fantasy - after all, wombats are good at digging, sleeping, chewing, and seeing in the dark but they can't fly... can they?

An apparently straightforward narrative is enriched by the illustrations, which add detail to the story and project the young wombats' mischievous and determined natures. Michael Dugan's language is simple enough that younger listeners will follow the story but also provides vocabulary enrichment. Jane Burrell's illustrations are realistic but edge towards whimsy. Occasional splashes of bright colour are enticing and hint at the satisfying conclusion.

Good fun.