Wombat Goes Walkabout

by Michael Morpurgo, Christian Birmingham (Illustrator)

Wombat loves digging deep holes and thinking deep thoughts, but nobody thinks much of that until danger threatens the bush and the small wombat comes up with a great big idea…


One day Wombat digs the deepest hole he’s ever dug and crawls into the cool darkness to think. But when he climbs out again, he can’t see his mother anywhere. He is all alone.
As he wanders through the great outback looking for her, Wombat meets all kinds of wonderful creatures – Kookaburra, Wallaby, Possum, Emu, Boy and Koala. None of them think very much of him, though.
But when a fire sweeps through the bush, it is Wombat’s skills which save the day, and afterwards everyone races off to find his mum and bring her back to him.


AGES 4-8

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Australia, Fiction, Childrens, Environment, Geography

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Sir Michael Andrew Morpurgo, OBE, FRSL is the author of many books for children, five of which have been made into films. He also writes his own screenplays and libretti for opera. Born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 1943, he was evacuated to Cumberland during the last years of the Second World War, then returned to London, moving later to Essex. After a brief and unsuccessful spell in the army, he took up teaching and started to write. He left teaching after ten years in order to set up 'Farms for City Children' with his wife. They have three farms in Devon, Wales and Gloucestershire, open to inner city school children who come to stay and work with the animals. In 1999 this work was publicly recognised when he and his wife were invested a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to youth. In 2003, he was advanced to an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL) in 2004. He was knighted in the 2018 for his services to literature and charity. He is also a father and grandfather, so children have always played a large part in his life. Every year he and his family spend time in the Scilly Isles, the setting for three of his books.

Reviews

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wombat is looking for his mother, and on his journey he comes across a variety of other native Australian wildlife - kookaburra, wallaby, possum, emu and a koala, as well as a boy. They each show the Wombat the things they can do, each time with the Wombat telling them that it digs and thinks a lot.
When there is a bushfire, the others tell the Wombat to run, but instead he digs a big hole to hide in, inviting all the others to join as he thinks that it is quicker to dig and hide than to run, fly or hop away.
In return for the help, the others then help Wombat to find his mother.

A beautiful story about acknowledging different skills and using them to help one another.

The illustrations are incredible with lots of depth. They would be a good basis for doing sketches and pastel images with children.

This book would be good for introducing children to Australia’s wildlife and also discussions surrounding the environment, bushfires and animal conservation.

[Mercy]

Wombat does not give himself much credit because all he can do is dig and think. However, his digging and thinking saves him and his friends when the great fire engulfs the forest. Never under-estimate yourself.

[Aruna Kumar Gadepalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book for the young readers with colour illustrations. Wombat trying to find mother and meeting other wildlife creatures and adventures.

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

My quest to read all children's books about wombats continues. This one was cute - particularly the sketchy style of some of the non-colour illustrations.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful illustrations, and a nice introduction to Australian animals for youngsters. Readers who aren't familiar with wombats will be scurrying to look up photos of these delightfully tubby little creatures.

Veg*n parents note: Wombat meets and briefly speaks to a small boy who is hunting emus, a type of large bird. He is carrying what appears to be a stick or spear. However, by the end of the story the boy and emu are standing together peacefully in the background illustrations.

[Sophie Vis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful story about a wombat looking for his mother. On his search, he meets lots of different animals who tell him what they’re good at before showing off their skills. When asked what he can do, the wombat replies he can’t do much other than dig holes and think all day. He believes these skills are of little use until he spots a fire in the distance and realises that his digging skills may be useful after all to save others! It’s a powerful story that can help children understand that we’re all different yet important. The illustrations are captivating and make the story even more touching.

[Liz Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully soft illustrations accompany this story of a wombat looking for his mother when a bushfire strikes. The book takes us through encounters with a kookaburra, wallaby, possum, emu, an Aboriginal boy, koala, all to no avail, but then when the bushfire strikes, Wombat's digging and thinking skills save many of the bush animals. And he finds his mother!

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book about a wombat who doesn't think he does much other than dig and think. By the end of the book and through the lives of other animals we see that everyone has their part to do even if it isn't recognized by others or even by ourselves. Nice illustrations.

[Hayley Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely story about a baby wombat who loses his mum. All the other animals think he can't do much but he manages to save them from a Bush fire.
Links to literacy, science topics of habitats and evolution amd geography.

[JoJo Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this very short story in my library’s audiobook section. A quick download and it was 8 minutes of cute story!

Perfect for a young child as a bedtime story.

[Mesca Elin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story about friendship and how each and every single one of us can help each other using the skills we've got.

[Nanny B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations!
Great story!

[zunggg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rich, shimmering art evokes the mirages of the outback perfectly and there are lots of cool antipodean critters. But the story is overly repetitious.

[Georgina Broadway]

This book is about a wombat who loses his mother and goes searching for her. He finds many other animals on his way and finds out about the differences between him and the other animals. They all think his skills of digging and thinking are 'boring' until a fire breaks out and he saves them all by digging a hole for them to hide in. He is then reunited with his mother. I think the book is good for teaching children about different animals, especially as they are animals typical of places like Australia. I also think it teaches children about how not to 'judge' the differences between one person to another. It's a very heart-warming book. The repetition also makes it easy and enjoyable to read. I think the moral of the story is not to under-estimate yourself just because you think your skills are ‘boring’ or not that useful. This is a great message to give to children who don’t feel as skilled as their peers – that your best is good enough and that all skills are useful whether are not they are the most socially desirable.

I think this could be an extremely useful resource for lessons with KS1 children. This could be part of a topic on animals in Australia – where they look at the different skills each one has and what they are useful for. Additionally, I think it could be the basis of creative writing work for all the children where they write what skills they think they have and what they can use them for. This will be good for self-esteem. Additionally, I think it would be a very good book to begin to develop children’s understanding of climate change – with the story being about a bushfire. Its repetitive nature is good for children’s literacy and sentence composition. Teacher could model writing different sentences and the children could attempt to compose them themselves. Also, children could match the animals sentences to the animal that said them. Some may find this story a bit long for young children – but I think this could be combatted by using several sessions of shared reading to read it.

[Emma Wadsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a heart-warming read. This book follows a Wombat who is looking for his Mum. He comes across various other animals who tell Wombat what their special skills/characteristics are and who frown upon Wombats 'digging'. However, the end of the book is positive as Wombat realises that his skill is in fact really useful and just as important as everyone else as he saves the animals from the forest fire.
I really enjoyed this book and thought it had potential to be used in lots of different ways in the classroom:
- Links with science and different animals
- Links with climate change (wildfires etc...) in geography
- Links with discovery of who you are, what are your strengths etc. and that everyone is different and unique - I think this is the overall message of the book; it is important to teach children to not judge others and to understand that everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. This could be used in PSHE.
I think it would be appropriate for KS1 due to the simple and repetitive structure of the book and its content. It could be used in lessons to help with grammar, describing words, or punctuation.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly, it must be admitted, because the boy in it looks a lot like her bestest friend ever.

This is a simply written (if slightly long) book about a wombat whose only skill, it seems, is to dig and think. Everybody he encounters laughs at how little he can do, showing off *their* skills.

But when a fire comes and he digs and digs and digs a hole, he invites them all to share his hole, because he's been thinking and he *thinks* that they can't outrun the fire with their abilities, but he can hide them from it. (And he's right.)

The book is beautifully illustrated, and neatly written as well.

I do find that it's too tall to easily shelve. That's a concern.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like that the wombat uses his seemingly simple skills to save himself and the others, and I like that the others repay him by finding his mother. But there's no real reason why the mother goes missing, and each page grows more and more tedious. There's a certain point when you're just a little bored because nothing is happening. And though the book is useful for introducing readers to Australian animals, there are other books that do a better (factual) job or a more fun job (without being factual).

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wombat is running into all the animals in the Australian outback while he is looking for his mother. They all tell him what their strengths are and think that digging and thinking is not much when the wombat tells them that is what he can do. But he saves the day when a fire comes and with his new friends finds his mother. A lot of text,but a good repeat sentence book for the older story time kids

[Gwnhwyfer · Rating 1 out of 5]

After digging a hole (and thinking), wombat goes off to look for mom and on the way, meets a variety of Australian animals, who tell him what they can do. Wombat's digging (and thinking) save the others, and wombat meets up with mom in the end (with help from his new friends). This story didn't click for me - I think that searching for mom was extraneous. She didn't feel like part of the story.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

There isn't much science involved here, so I didn't count it as such. It is a nice story about embracing your strengths and helping others. The illustrations are lovely and the text, while repetitive, works very well for younger kids. My 4th-graders listened with interest, but rolled their eyes at me a few times. The two younger boys enjoyed it more.

[Tricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book's text at times seems extraneous and the story stretches longer than what feels necessary, this story would be wonderful adaption by a storyteller or into a puppet play. Wombat searches and searches for his mother and meets quite a few animals along the way. Part of the appeal of this title is the inclusion of Australian animals.

[Miss Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

GR Level: L

Elementary: E MOR

Cute story about a Wombat that goes searching for his mother and meets a variety of other characters along the way that ask him what he does. When they think what they can do is better then his talents they learn that everyone's talents have a place and time to be used.

Great for REFLECTIVE!

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

We're finished diving the Great Barrier Reef. We'd better leave our scuba gear in the boat and change into hiking clothes. Let's put on our walk-about hat now and join Wombat. Keep your eyes open for all the wildlife unique to this continent!

[LauraW · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a "where is my mother" style book that highlights the abilities of various Australian animals, as well as the fire danger of the Australian bush. Cute, but more anthropomorphic than the Jackie French books.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story about a Wombat that goes searching for his mother and meets a variety of other characters along the way that ask him what he does. When they think what they can do is better then his talents they learn that everyone's talents have a place and time to be used.

Great for REFLECTIVE!

[Margie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute book about a Wombat who is looking for his mother and ends up meeting some friends along the way. It reminds me a bit of "Are You My Mother". The illustrations are great too.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Portrays what happens to animals caught in a wildfire. Though it takes place in Australia, it would go well out west and down in Texas, where wildfires often occur.

[Aditya / · Rating 5 out of 5]

It had very cute pictures, one of the best I've seen in this respect.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aussie vocab in a fun book.

[Gaby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like using this book to introduce the Kindy kids to the different parts of the library to help answer the question, 'what can a wombat do?'