Wombat Dreaming by Caz Goodwin, illustrated by Zoë Bennett

Title: Wombat Dreaming

Author: Caz Goodwin, illustrated by Zoë Bennett

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Affirm Press

Published: 27^th May 2025

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 24

Price: $19.99

Synopsis: Lil desperately wanted
to join in the class.
But each time she tried,
she’d land PLONK on the grass.

Lil loves doing yoga with her friends, but some poses aren’t easy when you’re a roly-poly wombat with short legs.

Take a deep breath, salute the sun and watch as Lil finds her own way to lead the bush yoga class.

An affirming story to remind us of our individual and unique talents.

~*~

Lil the Wombat sees all her animal friends doing yoga in the bush, and she loves going along and taking part. Poor Lil though – she’s a roly-poly wombat with very short limbs – and many of the poses like downward facing dog and all the others. She keeps falling over, so when she goes home, she plays around with poses – will she find one she can do and share with her bush friends?

Lil’s gentle journey is about taking a breath and finding your own way into something like yoga, and adapting so you can take part. Lil is a determined little character whose journey in this story proves that everyone does things in their own way, that everyone might have to do things differently. We all have different abilities or challenges, some people have disabilities and this means that there is never going to be a singular way of doing things. A lot of people have to adapt if they don’t fit what is often termed ‘the norm’. Lil proves that there is no such thing as ‘the norm’, that doing things our way works just as well – like with her yoga!

Wombat Dreaming is also a fantastic story about celebrating individual talents in a world where there is so much pressure to conform and fit in. Lil learns that expressing yourself and persevering are also important. That life is about creativity and what you come up with to express yourself in a diverse world. And it is also about self-respect and individuality – all things that in today’s world sometimes feel like they are under threat or questioned. That the majority would prefer everyone to be perfect little robots. Lil and her friends prove that we don’t need to be. They embody being yourself, sharing knowledge and being creative in the face of challenges.

Books that celebrate differences and individuality like Wombat Dreaming are important because they reaffirm that being the same as everyone else, that wanting everyone to be the same or fit into a certain mould will never work. That’s what Wombat Dreaming celebrates, and gives the world a delightful Australian story about acceptance and joy, about creativity and diversity. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and everything it celebrated whilst giving kids a fun and enjoyable story that can be enjoyed on so many different levels.