Written by Carol Diggory Shields
Illustrated by Sophie Blackall
Wombat Walkabout (Shields, 2009) is an
engaging and heart warming counting poem/story for early primary school students. As six
wombats travel through the Australian landscape, four of the wombats are taken by a wild
dingo. The remaining two wombats successfully hatch a plan to lure the dingo in and rescue
their friends. Wombat Walkabout engages the young reader while allowing them to make
sense of what they are reading through the simple text, glossary and delightful illustrations.
KEY FEATURES:
Wombat Walkabout contains a number of themes, two of which are Australia and mateship.
The story is set in Australia and a glossary is included at the start of the book providing
definitions for the Australian terminology that is used throughout the story. Mateship is
evident throughout the book but especially at the end when the the final two wombats
endeavour to rescue their friends from the dingo.
Activity 1: Students will create an Aussie picture dictionary using the Australian lingo and
distinctive Australian vocabulary found in this book.
Activity 2: Students will create a Mateship Recipe (Recipe for friendship writing activity,
2010). Students will each come up with their own list of ingredients and method for creating
and maintaining a friendship.
LANGUAGE AND LITERACY:
Walkabout Wombat contains a number of different language and literacy features.
Alliteration is evident throughout the book as Shields (2009) repeats the use of consonants at
the beginning of words that are positioned close together. Examples are ‘wooly wombats
went walkabout’ and ‘treking down the track’. Word choice is also evident in Walkabout
Wombat and this is conveyed to the reader through the authors use of descriptive words. A
golden wattle “was blooming in the sun” and the wombats were “ambling right along”. In
addition rhythm and rhyme is used throughout the book by way of syllable use and
matching sounds. Examples of these are ‘yelp’ and ‘help’ and ‘row’ and ‘grow’.
Activity 1: Students will create a new ending for the story.
Activity 2: In pairs students are to come up with at least 5 tongue twisters each to help them
to identify and practise alliteration.
Activity 3: Students will log on to River Rhyming and complete the activity.
Activity 4: Students will identify and write down all the different words the author has used
instead of ‘walked’ and will try to come up with some of their own.
VISUAL LITERACY:
The illustrations in Walkabout Wombat helps to convey not only the meaning of the text, but
also provides information about Australian flora and fauna. The water colours that Blackall
uses help to depict the hot dry climate of Australia. Readers are expected to be able to
interpret the meaning of the facial expressions on the animals which directly correlate with
what is happening in the story.
Activity 1: Discussion – “What emotions are evident on the faces of the wombats and the
dingo throughout the story? How can you tell?
Activity 2: Cover the front cover of the book while reading it to the students. Ask the
students to design their own front cover.
CROSS CURRICULUM ACTIVITIES:
o Mathematics
o The Arts – including visual and performance elements.
Activity : Students can act out the story of Wombat Walkabout based on “their observation
and perception of the characters in the story” (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment
Authority, 2007).
CAROL DIGGORY SHIELDS
Carol Diggory Shields, the author of Wombat Walkabout, has both written and illustrated a
large number of children’s books. Carol resides in California and works currently as a
librarian but has worked with children as a “recreational therapist” and a stuffed toy designer
(Vardell, 2007).
Carol Diggory Shields won the ‘Please touch museum award’ in 1997 for
another one of her books titled Saturday night at the Dinosaur Stomp. This is the first book
that Sophie Blackall has illustrated for Carol.
SOPHIE BLACKALL
Sophie Blackall is the illustrator of Wombat Walkabout and she currently resides in Brooklyn,
New York. Sophie grew up in Australia and her knowledge of the Australian landscape and
wildlife is evident from not only the illustrations but also the earthy water colours Sophie
uses to draw the landscape. Sophie Blackall has illustrated a number of picture story books
as well as provided illustrations for magazines and “animated television commercials”
(Sophie Blackall, 2009). Sophie Blackall has also written and illustrated her own picture
story book.
Written by: Lachie Hume
Illustrated by: Lachie Hume
Clancy the Courageous Cow (Hume, 2006) is an uplifting and thought provoking book that
was written by a 12 year old boy. Clancy the Courageous Cow tells the story of Clancy and
the measures he goes to in order to fit in and look like everyone else. At the conclusion of
the book Clancy ends up accepting and benefiting from his differences and unites two herds
of cattle that have lived separately for years.
KEY FEATURES: Clancy the Courageous Cow contains a number of key features such as
discrimination, being different, fairness and power. Discrimination is evident throughout the
book as Clancy is treated unfairly and ostracised by his herd due to his differences. Clancy
ends up embracing his own differences only when he realises that there is an advantage to not
having the distinctive white belt of his herd. Fairness and power is introduced when the
reader learns that a herd of Hereford Cows had the grazing rights to a superior pasture and
would not allow Clancy’s herd to feed there. Clancy the Courageous Cow shows how
formidable power can be and that we all have a choice in how we use it.
ACTIVITY 1: In pairs, students will create a Venn diagram identifying things that they
have in common and areas where they differ (physical attributes, hobbies, interests etc).
ACTIVITY 2: Students will create an acrostic poem using the word FAIRNESS.
LANGUAGE AND LITERACY:
Clancy the Courageous Cow contains a wide range of language and literature features.
Alliteration is used in the title of the book with the repeated ‘C’ sound and when calling the
cows ‘big and bossy’. Personification is also used throughout the story as the author
describes the Clancy having human like qualities with not only the things that he is able to do
but also the way that he feels. Among other things, Clancy has a family, falls in love and
completes in a wrestling competition.
The word choice the author uses in Clancy the Courageous Cow is also a language feature of
this book as the words are used to both connect with and entertain young readers. Hume uses
words like ‘stupid’, ‘ticks him off’ and ‘hit it off immediately’. Hume also makes up words
for wrestling manoeuvres such as ‘helicowpter’, ‘the cow whisperer’ and ‘the cud cruncher’.
Activity 1: Students will sit in a circle and throw a ball to each other stating their name and
an adjective describing themselves starting with the same letter. Eg Super Sally or Bashful
Bob
Activity 2: Students will pick an animal and write a story about it as though it has human
qualities such as thoughts and feelings.
Activity 3: Students will each make up 5 new words which they then will need to define.
Activity 4: Students will each come up with a new title for the book.
VISUAL LITERACY:
The illustrations in Clancy the Courageous Cow are colourful, childlike and symbolise what
is happening in the text.
The river in the illustrations seems to represent the divide between
Clancy and the other cows in his herd whom treat him like an outcast due to his differences.
The humanistic qualities that are described by the author also carry over into the illustrations.
Among others, there are images of Clancy painting as well as a cow talking into a
microphone. The blue of the sky on the final page of the book is a brighter and lighter blue
which seems to represent the happiness Clancy was filling then, juxtaposed to the darker blue
of the sky earlier on in the book when he was being ostracised.
Activity 1: Take the animal you have used in activity 2 above and draw a picture of it acting
like a human ie walking on two legs, dressed in clothes, reading etc
Activity 2: Go through the book with the students displaying the pictures and covering up the
words. Have students predict what is happening and why they believe that is the case.
Cross Curriculum Activities:
o Civics and Citizenship
o Interpersonal Development
o The Arts
Activity 1:
Students will take a sheet of paper and using magazines, drawings and symbols will create a
poster about themselves. (Diversity activities and ice breakers, n.d.).
LACHIE HUME – Lachie Hume, the author and illustrator of this book, was only 12 years
old when he wrote and illustrated this book as a year 7 project (Kennedy, 2007). As a result
the language and illustrations are engaging, childlike and appealing to both young and older
readers alike. The themes and topics in this book make sense when you learn that Lachie
grew up on a farm and had a pet cow named Xena (Clancy the courageous cow: Teacher
notes, n.d.). Lachie Hume’s is the son of well renowned Australian author and illustrator
Allison Lester. Many of her books contain a similar underlying theme of “encouraging
children to believe in themselves and celebrate the differences that make them special”
(Alison Lester, n.d.). Lachie Hume has only had the one book published but there are
believed to be more in the pipeline.