A feast for wombat by Sally Morgan

Ill. by Tania Erzinger. Omnibus Scholastic, 2014. ISBN 9781742990187.
(Age: preschool) Recommended. Australian animals, Wombats, Friendship. Underground, Wombat does what wombats do, he scratches, snuffles and sleeps. But on waking he feels alone, so decides to go above ground for a dust bath and to see who is there. He finds Magpie, Dingo and Goanna having a wonderful time together. Wombat watches them for a while thinking how special they all are. He talks to Goanna who with its skilful legs can climb the tree without thinking. He offers to teach Wombat how to do this, but Wombat's short stubby legs are not equipped for this task. When he speaks to Magpie he sees what a beautiful voice the bird has and tries to emulate it. But his voice is not nearly as good, and with Dingo he tries to dance but does not succeed. Tired and down at heart, he heads back down his burrow, but the others tell him about his expertise, things they could not do, and invite him to a feast to celebrate.
So the four friends support each other, and the reader learns just what attributes these Australian animals have.
Erzinger, the illustrator has given us a soft edged group of animals, accurately showing each of their size, shape and colourings. No reader would be at a loss to know about these four animals, and may even notice that several other smaller animals make an appearance. A lovely read a loud and sharing book for younger readers.
Fran Knight