The Set Up
The Hairy-Nosed Wombat is in desperate need of something to scratch his bottom on but everything he knows has disappeared… it’s all being destroyed by development.
I’m liking
The illustrations in this book are engaging and you just want to bundle up the wombat and give him a cuddle. My almost-three-year old quickly picked up the refrain and enjoyed anticipating what was ‘gone’.
There’s a strong environmental message and we had a long talk about why the wombat had to find another home.
Things that made me go hmmm…
Ok- I admit it- I’m a bit of a prude about these things, but I just can’t bring myself to read this to my kids as ‘Itchy Nose Hairy Butt’- in our house it’s become ‘Itchy Nose Hairy Bottom’. Sadly, this ruins the rhyme but my kiddos are too young to notice just yet. I did a quick check on our Facebook page and the response was split about whether people would use ‘butt’ with their kids or not so I’m clearly not entirely alone in this…
The Conclusion
A useful story with an important environmental message. It’s a shame that, for me, the language gets in the way of enjoying the rhythm and rhyme of the book.
