Little Wombat’s Easter Surprise by Charles Fuge

Title: Little Wombat’s Easter Surprise

Author: Charles Fuge

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Walker Books Australia

Published: 16^th February 2022

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 28

Price: $24.99

Synopsis: A Little Wombat story about sharing, new friends, and of course, Easter eggs.

Little Wombat is busy collecting eggs on his Easter hunt when he sees Rabbit hop by wearing a special Easter Bunny costume. It’s such a good costume that the tail and nose won’t come even off – but wait, is that really Rabbit? Or is it his new friend, Bilby? Perfect for an Australian Easter storytime, this book is about new friends, new experiences, and new ways to celebrate Easter.

• Over 1 million Little Wombat books sold!
• Perfect for teaching young ones about sharing, making friends, and appreciating your own talents.
• Charles Fuge’s adorable illustrations are hugely comforting and his simple, charming story is an ideal read-aloud.

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It’s Easter, and our favourite Little Wombat has set out on an Easter egg hunt! He’s busy hunting when Rabbit comes by – only it isn’t Rabbit – it’s Bilby! Everyone knows that the Easter Bunny comes at Easter, so Little Wombat is expecting to see Rabbit out looking for eggs! So it’s a surprise to see Bilby. Together, they list everything they can do – and finally, find something in common – and hatch a plan for a sleepover! But what does Bilby have in mind for his friends when they wake up the next morning?

Easter is only a few months away – and in Australia, we embrace the Easter Bilby – a native animal that delivers the Easter treats to everyone. It is as much a part of our Easter traditions as it is to have Easter in autumn as it starts to get cooler, making it a unique experience. Most Easter stories centre around the northern hemisphere experience, so it’s a lot of fun when we get stories that look at the Australian experience or the Australian characters that make up our Easter experience and traditions down under.

Charles Fuge has created a delightful story about friendship and working together to make Easter special. It is coming out just in time for Easter preparations as well, so will be a good one to add to the Easter basket and read over the Easter weekend or in preparation for Easter. It shows that we can have Easter Bunnies and Easter Bilbies as part of our traditions, whilst showing the beauty of Australian wildlife including koalas and wombats as part of the cast of characters.

Charles also illustrated the story, and it is joyous and gentle, with friendship and happiness oozing from the colourful images that populate the book and create a bright and happy world for readers, in a magical world where bunnies, koalas, wombats and bilbies live together and celebrate Easter in their own way. It’s the kind of book that will be loved and read for years to come, over and over to young children over the Easter weekend, and is delightful to read on your own as an adult too, when you want to put a smile on your face.