Champ, star of 'Champ: My story of survival', reviews 'Saving wombats' September 24 2014
This book tells you so much about wildlife in Australia and how important it is to protect the environment. It’s a great book for kids, but people who are interested in animals and saving the planet will also enjoy it. This book is a winner for all ages and I think school libraries should have it on their shelves because kids can learn a lot and have fun at the same time! I give it five stars.
Read Champ's full review here.
Emma J. Thanks Champ. I'm so glad you enjoyed the book! I hope many more people discover your inspiring story too.
Fiona Ingram, award winning children's book author and animal advocate, reviews 'Saving wombats' September 2014
Ruthie, dad Tom and mum Kate, along with Ruthie’s younger siblings, Liam and Bel, and their pet wombat Womble are en route to her cousins’ farm to spend a lovely holiday in the countryside. Up ahead they see a sad sight: a wombat has been run over by a speeding truck. Ruthie’s parents stop to check the animal and discover it has a tiny baby in its pouch. The baby is still alive. Luckily, the Jirringbah Wildlife Shelter is on the same route and soon they get the baby, called a pinky, to Jo Matthews who shows the kids how to take care of the pinky. While they are there, the kids learn a lot about Australia’s wildlife and some of the skin diseases that can affect these animals; one is a horrible disease called mange! Ruthie doesn’t want to admit that soon Womble will be old enough to be released into the wild – imagine if he gets a nasty, itchy skin condition from the mange. Once they get to their cousins, the kids find out more about wombats and mange, because there is a wombat on the farm that looks as if it has a bad case of mange. Medication can cure the condition, but it’s catching the animal and applying the medication regularly that’s the problem. Wombats are also pretty quick when it comes to getting away! With the help of some wildlife experts and her Uncle Dave, they devise a clever way of getting the medication onto the skin of the elusive wombat. Will the medicine cure this sick wombat? Will Ruthie be able to release Womble back into the wild?
Saving Wombats by Emma Homes is the second book in Ruthie’s Wildlife series. Ruthie is a great role model for kids since she is a Zoo Youth Ambassador. With wild animal habitats declining worldwide because of human encroachment, it’s important for today’s kids to learn about animals, and to care for them and respect their rights. This is a charming tale that will appeal to its target audience. Author Emma Homes turns Ruthie’s family trip into quite an adventure – wombats may look cute and cuddly, but don’t get on the wrong side of them or try to invade their burrows! There is a wonderful warm atmosphere between the characters of Ruthie’s family and the people they meet. Ruthie and her siblings are real and believable and any parent would be proud of them. In this simple tale an amazing adventure unfolds, with the kids committed to helping animals. The author cleverly feeds necessary information into the story so that by the end of the book young readers will have learned an amazing number of facts about wombats. I really loved reading this!
Josie, Guest Reviewer at 'This Kid Reviews Books' August 2014
I liked that this was about saving frogs and it was kind of a mystery. I liked reading about how Ruthie and her family live. They travel around in their bus and go from place to place to help animals (and frogs :) ). Ruthie and her brother and sister even do to school at their bus, not a regular school. I like that the story describes the science lab trailer where her parents do experiments to find out what’s wrong with the frogs. I never heard of a waterfall frog before. It is a real frog. I looked it up and learned more about them. I liked reading the book. I like that Ruthie is my age (ten :) ). The book is a good chapter book and I thought the story was exciting! I would read the other stories in this series. Rating - 5/5 bookworms!
Emma J. So glad you enjoyed it Josie, and thanks for the review!
Lara F. - July 2014
Dear Emma
I really enjoyed reading these first 2 books in Ruthie's wildlife series, thanks for writing them! I learnt a lot about frogs and wombats in the
process and loved the way all this interesting information was woven through the story. I particularly enjoyed the Australian context which was very 'real' and reminded me of my own childhood experiences camping and staying on a farm. I will be recommending your books to my family and friends! Look forward to the next installment...
Emma J. Thanks for the feedback Lara, and for mentioning the books to your friends and family. Always appreciated!
Australian Children's Laureate Jackie French - July 2014
"..But in the last few weeks, two books have arrived via my email, neither from major publishers, but the work of the authors themselves. And they are lovely, the kind of book where I wish my grandson was next to my desk so I could share them with him. (Actually I wish this often – and not just when I have books to share.)
The first was Nanna's Boot Camp by Vicki Griffin, and I love it...
The other arrived yesterday and it is about wombats. Let us be frank about this – I am biased about wombats. If a book is accurate and the writer obviously adores wombats I will think it is fabulous.
Emma Homes wrote Saving Wombats having stayed with friends who were caring for an orphaned wombat who had just reached the now-I’ll-destroy-your-shoe-laces stage of rehabilitation. And she has also researched the subject of mange in wombats carefully – this chapter book is about a young person concerned about the devastation mange can cause both individual wombats and the species as a whole."
You can read the full review on the Australian Children's Laureate blog. (Books on the Wind, 18 July 2014)
Emma J. Thanks Jackie! I admire your skill as a writer, your tremendous energy, and your amazing output of books for children. I am so excited that you have reviewed one of my books!
Lara - June 2014
Both those books are great! I think they ROCK! Are you going to write any more like them?
Emma J. Thanks Lara, I would love to write more. I'm thinking the next one might be about one of Australia's gorgeous birds. Will let you know!
"..But in the last few weeks, two books have arrived via my email, neither from major publishers, but the work of the authors themselves. And they are lovely, the kind of book where I wish my grandson was next to my desk so I could share them with him. (Actually I wish this often – and not just when I have books to share.)
The first was Nanna's Boot Camp by Vicki Griffin, and I love it...
The other arrived yesterday and it is about wombats. Let us be frank about this – I am biased about wombats. If a book is accurate and the writer obviously adores wombats I will think it is fabulous.
Emma Homes wrote Saving Wombats having stayed with friends who were caring for an orphaned wombat who had just reached the now-I’ll-destroy-your-shoe-laces stage of rehabilitation. And she has also researched the subject of mange in wombats carefully – this chapter book is about a young person concerned about the devastation mange can cause both individual wombats and the species as a whole."
You can read the full review on the Australian Children's Laureate blog. (Books on the Wind, 18 July 2014)
Emma J. Thanks Jackie! I admire your skill as a writer, your tremendous energy, and your amazing output of books for children. I am so excited that you have reviewed one of my books!
Lara - June 2014
Both those books are great! I think they ROCK! Are you going to write any more like them?
Emma J. Thanks Lara, I would love to write more. I'm thinking the next one might be about one of Australia's gorgeous birds. Will let you know!