Diary of a Wombat

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Provides an example of diary writing for later use by the students in their individual writing task.

The wombat hasn’t been given a name. Often this is because a character stands in for a group. In this case, she stands for your typical wombat, doing typical wombatty things. Follow Mothball, an adorable wombat, as she goes about her week sleeping, eating, scratching, digging holes and training humans to give her food on demand. Q. What do you notice about diary writing? Reponses: days of the week and moments in time like ‘Monday’ and ‘Morning’. Model the use of a Colon when creating a list. Model an example of my dailyroutine during the week.Example:

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The diary-writing wombat’s life revolves around sleeping (lots of), eating, scratching and digging holes. Then, new neighbours appear – a human family – whom, within a short number of days, are convinced to provide the wombat with repeated gifts of carrots and oats. The book ends with: Hi! I'm Cecile, a Certified Practising Speech Pathologist from Western Australia. I am passionate about using great picture books in therapy sessions. Find out more about me (and see a photo of our recently adopted fur baby). Feel free to send me a message - I'd love to know about your favourite picture books!

The wombat has simple needs and lives in a wombat utopia — a rural human environment with a large supply of carrots growing in the garden, good soil for digging holes and everything else she could possibly want. The wombat’s stand-out feature is that she wants for nothing. But for narrative drive, a story requires that the main character want something. This is an oblivious character who doesn’t see the havoc she wreaks behind her. She doesn’t realise the humans filled up her hole because they didn’t want a hole. Unlike Peter Rabbit, she doesn’t realise the carrots in the garden have been planted there by someone and that she thieved them. She thinks she happened upon them. WHAT DOES SHE WANT?

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Families can talk about perspective. If you have a pet, imagine what the world looks like from your pet's point of view. What would your pet's diary look like? Would you ever want to trade places with your pet? Why or why not? Shortlisted - Australian Publisher's Association Book Design Awards for Best Designed Children's Picture Book (2003) The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) administers the oldest national prize for children’s literature in Australia. Each year, the CBCA confers “Book of the Year” awards to literature for young people in five categories: Older Readers, Younger Readers, Early Childhood, Picture Books and Information Books. In recent years the Picture Book category has emerged as a highly visible space within which the CBCA can contest discourses of cultural marginalization which construct Australian (‘colonial’) literature as inferior or adjunct to the major Anglophone literary traditions, and children’s literature as lesser than its adult counterpart. The CBCA has moved from asserting its authority by withholding judgment in the award’s early years towards asserting expertise via overtly politicized selections in the twenty-first century. Reading across the CBCA’s selections of picture books allows for insights into wider trends in Australian children’s literature and culture, and suggests a conscious engagement with social as well as literary values on the part of the CBCA in the twenty-first century.' What Are We Feeding Our Children When We Read Them a Book? Depictions of Mothers and Food in Contemporary Australian Picture Books Laurel Cohn,

This is the week long diary of a wombat (an Australian animal that likes to dig holes, eat, and sleep.) As the week progresses and it attains its desires, the story just gets funnier and funnier; it really had me chortling. The pictures are hilarious as the wombat keeps her sleepy expression throughout all her many activities. They will research their pet (animal) andfind out about it's daily activities and habits,(what it likes to do), it's diet (what it eats) and how it lives with humans. Notes: Books and information about domestic animals are available in the classroom for students to use in their research. They can choose whatever pet they like, andmust refer to the criteria sheet when completing their diary writing. (see below)This is a delightful little story, amusing, with CUTE-as-can-be illustrations. Growing up on five acres in the country, I was used to deer coming by and asserting their rightful territory by eating our flowers, drinking our water, etc. Now, I want to spend some time at an Australian country house so I can see a wombat do the same! :-) The reader learns, comically, that animals can train humans, not just the other way around! HOW WILL LIFE BE DIFFERENT FROM NOW ON? To review 'lists' jointly constructed in previous lessons and ensure students know what they need to include in their diary writing. single work children's fiction ; The Slightly True Story of Cedar B. Hartley (Who Planned to Live an Unusual Life) Martine Murray,