BOOK PICKS.Byline: The Register-Guard "Diary of a Wombat" By Jackie French; illustrated by Bruce Whatley Clarion A family of application development systems for Windows from SoftVelocity, Inc., Pompano Beach, FL (www.softvelocity.com). Clarion provides a comprehensive set of tools for development, including a screen builder, 4GL and application generator. Books, 2002 Ages 3 and up What does a wombat do all day? According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. this charming picture book by Jackie French, they mostly eat at night and sleep during the day. But what happens when humans move in next door? Excitement begins. Our wombat goes from sleeping and eating grass on Monday to fighting battles with a flat hairy 1. hairy - Annoyingly complicated. "DWIM is incredibly hairy." 2. hairy - Incomprehensible. "DWIM is incredibly hairy." 3. hairy - Of people, high-powered, authoritative, rare, expert, and/or incomprehensible. creature (a doormat) on Wednesday. For its hard work, the wombat wants to be rewarded. It learns that carrots are especially delicious. The wombat emerges from its hole and learns to demand treats (carrots and oats oats, cereal plants of the genus Avena of the family Gramineae (grass family). Most species are annuals of moist temperate regions. The early history of oats is obscure, but domestication is considered to be recent compared to that of the other ) by chewing chewing or mastication Up-and-down and side-to-side movements of the lower jaw, using the teeth to grind food for easier swallowing. During chewing, the tongue shapes food into a lump and saliva lubricates it for swallowing. holes in the door, banging on the garbage can, digging holes in the yard and taking the laundry off of the line. By the end, the wombat has determined that humans can be trained and make great pets. While the text is delightful, Bruce Whatley's illustrations complete the book. At the beginning, Whatley uses great amounts of white space to define and outline the simplicity of the bear-like wombat, which we see alone, sleeping and eating. Gradually, as the story gets more complicated, the illustrations follow suit. We see the wombat with the doormat, the wombat at the door and the wombat in the garden. The details of the drawings convey the essence of the story brilliantly. Besides being laugh-out-loud funny, the book could be used to teach children why we shouldn't feed wild animals WILD ANIMALS. Animals in a state of nature; animals ferae naturae. Vide Animals; Ferae naturae. . The humans look on in utter disbelief at the wombat's actions, yet still feed this demanding critter carrots! - Aimee Meuchel, youth services librarian, Eugene Public Library |
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