Christmas Wombat

by Jackie French, Bruce Whatley (Illustrator)

Overview

“Slept. Scratched. Slept.” Indeed, it seems like Christmas will be just another day for the wombat . . . until she smells carrots! In this charming picture book, the star of Diary of a Wombat goes head to head with Santa’s reindeer in competition for carrots—and wins. Then, as an accidental stowaway on Santa's sleigh, she learns that carrots are internationally available. No wonder she isn't hungry for treats on Christmas morning! Engaging illustrations delightfully complement the spare text in this unique, wombat’s-eye view of a favorite holiday.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547868721
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	10/16/2012
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	442,516
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 11.50(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Jackie French is a highly esteemed writer for children and adults with more than 100 books to her credit. She lives in Australia with her family and usually one or more wombats. Her web site is www.jackiefrench.com.

Bruce Whatley was born in Wales and now lives with his family in Australia. He has illustrated more than 50 children's books, some of which he also wrote. 

Editorial Reviews

First seen in Diary of a Wombat, the cuddly critter with an astonishingly low energy level and a keen nose for carrots is again on the trail of his favorite snack. This time, he is an unwitting stowaway on Santa’s sleigh, which finds him circumnavigating the globe and duking it out with the reindeer for the precious veggies at each stop. Employing the same halting, deadpan tone of the previous books (“Strange creatures trying to eat my carrots!/ Got rid of them./ Again”), French provides Whatley with bare-bones scaffolding on which to build comic moments of Wombat munching, napping, and tussling with reindeer. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"Delightfully comical, providing a satisfying story that will appeal to the whole family, from toddlers through adults."
—Kirkus, starred review

"French provides Whatley with bare-bones scaffolding on which to build comic moments of Wombat munching, napping, and tussling with reindeer."
—Publishers Weekly

"Charming and slight, the humor shines through the spare text and Whatley's expressive paintings of the lazy wombat."
—School Library Journal

"Succinct sentences and episodic pacing allow Wombat's adventures to speak for themselves."
—Horn Book

"Jackie French's succinct narration works charmingly with Bruce Whatley's depictions of the myopic, carrot-loving quadruped that accidentally stows himself on Santa's sled."
—Wall Street Journal

From the Publisher

The appealing wombat star and co-star of Diary of a Wombat and Diary of a Baby Wombat here tells the tale of his daily pleasures: sleeping, scratching, and especially eating, especially carrots. He also tells the story of an adventure that he does not really understand, to the amusement of readers who do. As he pushes away "dangly things," we see that they are Christmas tree ornaments. He finds that "strange creatures," reindeer, are eating what he thinks are his carrots. He confronts them successfully, then feeling tired, takes a nap in what we see is Santa's sleigh. He awakens to confront the "strange creatures" over more carrots. He needs help getting back up a chimney after finding still more carrots. They are all over! Finally home, he hopes the "strange creatures" will visit again. No longer hungry, he falls asleep under a carrot-filled Christmas stocking, unaware of the big event he has witnessed. Painted naturalistically in acrylics, the wombat is a lazy charmer that looks like a cuddly stuffed toy. The plump gray reindeer are fine foils; Santa appears only once; the carrots take on a major role. This adventure is fun for knowing readers. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

Children's Literature - Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz

PreS-2—Wombat's many fans will welcome this tale as the single-minded creature sleeps, scratches, eats carrots, and fights a "major battle with strange creatures" that are eating his carrots. A nap on Santa's sleigh provides him with the chance to see the world and discover that carrots have been left at various places. Knowing children will soon realize that all of these carrots have been left out for Santa's reindeer on Christmas Eve, but Wombat is none the wiser at the end. He just knows that these creatures "can be useful for finding carrots." Charming and slight, the humor shines through the spare text and Whatley's expressive paintings of the lazy wombat.—Anne Connor, Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal

In this holiday-themed entry in their successful series, French and Whatley introduce their lovable wombat character to Santa and his reindeer. A bearlike Australian animal, the wombat likes to sleep, hide in holes and eat. This wombat especially likes to eat carrots, and the witty, understated plot focuses on the wombat's intensive search for more and more carrots. The brief, first-person narration, using just a few words per page, describes the wombat's activities and its discovery of carrots set out for some "strange creatures" (Santa's reindeer). The wombat chomps every carrot in sight, stows away in Santa's sleigh and beats the reindeer to their carrot treats at stops around the world. The little wombat is oblivious to the significance of Santa and the reindeer, though readers will understand all the Christmas connections, with many of the funny plot twists revealed through the illustrations. The brief, ironic text and the humorous expressions of the wombat and reindeer are delightfully comical, providing a satisfying story that will appeal to the whole family, from toddlers through adults. The wombat hopes those strange carrot-attracting creatures will be back soon, and young readers will hope the lovable wombat returns for more cleverly constructed carrot quests. (Picture book. 2-7)

Kirkus Reviews