Batter Up Wombat

by Helen Lester, Lynn Munsinger (Illustrator)

This was a brand-new baseball season, and the Champs were ready to go in their spiffy clean uniforms. Nevermind that the previous year they finished last in the North American Mammal League, this season would be different. But when a Wombat wanders onto the field opening game day, the Champs have no idea just how different the game was about to become. Young readers and listeners are sure to delight in Helen Lester’s hilarious baseball lingo wordplay as Lynn Munsinger’s illustrations capture the befuddled Wombat and his earnest attempts to fit in and play ball.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Sports, Animals, Baseball, Humor, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 2005

About the author

Helen Lester is the author of many children’s books. Her background with children includes being a mother of two and a former elementary school teacher of ten years. While at home with her children, Helen realized the importance of quality children’s literature. Helen started her writing career as a struggling author facing many rejections by publishing companies. Her first book was finally published in 1979. Helen Lester is a full-time writer who makes her home in New York.

Reviews

[Meghan Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is darling and funny. I was hoping to use it for a preschool story time, but I think the kids probably wouldn't get it. It would be great for school aged kids. Wombat is new to town and the town baseball team thinks he would be an excellent batter. They have a challenging time teaching him how to play, though. Wombat redeems himself by saving eveyone using his unique skill when a tornado comes. It would be great to use when explaining cultural differences in school.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Helen Lester book. This one is focused on an Australian animal learning or rather not learning the ins and outs of baseball. It was really funny and in the end, the wombat becomes a hero by burrowng into the ground in time to save his new friends from a tornado. Funny and heartwarming. Good book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

We love wombats and baseball, so this was a funny find at the library. I think the premise is lost on children who don't yet fully understand the rules of baseball, but that's OK : )

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wombat must be related to Amelia Bedelia... :)

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Title: "Batter Up Wombat"

Author/Illustrator: Helen Lester/Lynn Munsinger

Reading Level: 3.1

Book Level: Grades 3-5

Book Summary: "Batter Up Wombat" is a funny, yet heartwarming, picture book that tells the tale of an innocent Wombat who joins the baseball team "Champs" - who just so happen to be the worst team in the entire North American League. "Batter Up Wombat" masterfully weaves a hilarious story around Mr. Wombat's nativity around baseball and also his misunderstanding around the language barrier that exists between him and his new teammates - our friend the Wombat just having moved to the States from Australia struggles with baseball and American terminology such as "Steal Third" (in which he literally steals the third base and tries to hide) and "Run Home" (in which he tries to explain to the team that Australia is an awfully far distance for him to run).

Bookshelf Genre:
Picture Books

Bookshelf Mentor Writing Traits:
Word Choice - "Batter Up Wombat" would be an excellent Mentor Text for any teacher looking at teaching word choice to their students. "Batter Up Wombat" skillfully uses Baseball and American slang/words to create an entertaining story in which the misunderstood terminology (by the Wombat) leads to a satirical story plot and outcome. This picture book is a great example how an author's word choice can not only capture the attention of the audience, but directly impact the flow and meaning to a story.

[Bridget R. Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Their baseball team's name was a misnomer. The Champs weren't champions. They became more hopeful when the new kid from Australia joins their team. The Champs misunderstand his name. He's a wombat, but they hear Whambat. They explain baseball to him, but Wombat doesn't understand their American expressions and slang. He may be big and strong, but Wombat is a horrible baseball player. Wombat saves the day when a tornado comes to town. Using his digging skills, he digs a tunnel to keep all the players safe.

What I Thought: What a fun book about America's favorite pastime. I love wombat's character. His misunderstanding of American slang and his own Australian expressions give children exposure to another culture in a fun way. A great read for the summer!

[Hannah Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this book is super cute and unique! It incorporates a lot of different themes such as feeling left out, feeling lonely, trying something new, and figuring out how you personally can contribute and help others. Though this book is more centered around sports, I think that both girls and boys would enjoy reading it as there are other aspects to it besides just sports. I also think it’s cool that it includes a wombat because that isn’t a animal that you see very often in book. I will definitely include this book in my future classroom library.

Genre: Modern Fantasy
Reading level: 3-4

[The Brothers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A visiting wombat happens to wander onto a baseball diamond where the underdog team is warming up. The like his size and mishear (whether intentionally or not) that he is a Whambat! Immediately he is drafted. The team quickly tries to explain the rules of baseball (which is pretty weird once you see it with new eyes). The wombat doesn't prove to be a very good player and everyone is discouraged. But! A tornado approaches and using his mad digging skillz, the wombat provides a safe place for everyone.

Great illustrations.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an entertaining tale about introducing a newcomer to the complicated sport of baseball. The narrative is humorous and the illustrations are colorful and cartoonish.

I discovered this book at our local library and saw that it was created by the same team who brought us the Tacky series. We love their anthropomorphic animals with their expressive faces and comic antics. We enjoyed reading this book together.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Helen Lester's books. This was cute, fun, and funny. I was getting a sense of the Amelia Bedelia baseball book I've read, but no where near as annoying. Really good laughs, especially if you are familiar with baseball and can see how someone who isn't might perceive all the terminology. Very good. Great for a lap-sit read and maybe even a story time with some early school-aged readers.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wombat agrees to play baseball with the Champs although he doesn't know the rules. However, Wombat gets a chance to prove that he can still be a hero. Baseball fans will appreciate the lively wordplay. A humorous picture book that will provide an opportunity to talk about everyone's different talents.

[Saralyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The word play is hilarious!

[Yvette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really cute and funny story about a wombat that knows nothing about baseball. Most of the comedy is in the way the team explains the different terms of baseball and the wombat becomes confused.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henry said, "I laughed so hard I almost had a heart attack."

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story... really need to understand baseball to get the cute puns

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful, funny, self-aware, and tasteful! There is fun, smart wordplay galore to match the Wombat's silly antics.

[Kaylynn Johnsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilarious misunderstanding. Wombat saves the day when a tornado strikes during the baseball game.

[Allyson Goose · Rating 2 out of 5]

My preschooler loves "Diary of a Wombat," so we wanted another wombat book. I was disappointed.

First of all, the book seems like it wants to be "Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia" but with animals. The Amelia Bedelia book is so much better. The plot is similar. There's a team that is going to lose a gam. Along comes a new player who might help them win, but the player doesn't understand the rules of baseball. The team teaches them, but there isn't much time to learn and the new player gets confused during the game. There's a lot of word play about things like stealing bases and tagging players. Then, just when the team is sure they're going to lose and they're frustrated with the new player, the new player does something special that makes the team adore them.

If your child doesn't know baseball terminology, most of the humor will be lost on them. Mine didn't know what a batter's cage was, what a pitcher did, what a pop-up was, who an umpire was, what a foul was, what a dugout was, or what Major League Baseball was.

It's also confusing who the target audience is here. The cutesy pictures make it look like it's trying to be for preschoolers or kindergarteners, but there's a lot of new vocabulary here even for a kindergartener. There's some Australian English about "mates" and rugby that's funny, but also maybe new to US readers.
Beyond the baseball terminology, I also had to explain so much.
--"The Champs weren't." This was the opening line. I thought I'd skipped a page or read it wrong. I get the joke now, but it was confusing.

--Words and phrases like the following:
--spiffy
--the source of their excitement
--pleased as punch
--befuddled
--sanitary
--suit me up
--rival
--bandits
--didn't care for
--a hunk of wood
--hadn't much time to ponder
--the score grew in favor of
--for his part
--frazzled
--he could hardly bear to look at
--capable of digging tunnels up to 655 feet long
--capital idea

All in all, it was hard to follow the plot because I had to stop and explain so much. Maybe I'll try reading it again when my kids are older and know more about baseball.

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wombat---Wham-bat---ummm...okay...

Pulled this for our unit on baseball. It was too long to read aloud to my kiddos, but I still tried to give it a chance. Honestly? I didn't really like it. I didn't think it was funny, and the illustrations weren't all I'd hoped for. I'm going to pass on this one in the future.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute picture book. Wombat moves from Australia and due to his size the baseball team asks him to join. Only Wombat knows nothing about baseball and is very confused by the rules. Wombat ends up saving the team from a tornado with his digging skills. Elementary kids will kids this one humourous.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

we love the Tacky books by the same author. I did not like the story line of how the wombat was treated

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the use of wombats, the illustrations, and the fun ways imagery was used in talking about baseball!

[Tom Holehan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very clever story for kids which plays with words and their meanings in a ery entertaining fashion.

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been on a bit of a wombat kick lately. I've probably liked other books with wombat characters a bit more than this one...which dragged a bit and didn't keep my audience's interest. Wouldn't incorporate into storytime but definitely worth a read for a baseball or avid wombat fan.

[Nick Cherry · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this book was boring. I liked how it dealt with baseball, and I know young boys would enjoy that part, but the book itself was dull.

[Nadia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, but not as great as her Wooway for Wodney Wat.

[Judy Desetti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny book about a baseball team getting a new player - Wombat who is clueless about the double meaning of baseball words. ©2006