ROOM FOR MORE

One good deed leads to another as a pair of wombats welcome bushfire-driven refugees into their burrow.

Over the objections of Scratch, the more timorous of the two, Dig invites first a fleeing wallaby and her joey, then a koala with burned paws, and, scariest of all, a venomous tiger snake into the increasingly crowded burrow to escape the flames and smoke above. The wombats’ kindness is rewarded when the rains that come to douse the fire threaten to flood the burrow and the grateful visitors pitch in to build a barricade. “Aren’t we clever,” says Scratch afterward, “to have invited the neighbors into our home?” “Yes,” agrees Dig, viewing things from a more perceptive angle. “We are very lucky.” Unlike in Sarah L. Thomson’s similar but more naturalistic Wombat Underground: A Wildlife Survival Story (2022, illustrated by Charles Santoso), Kadarusman personifies her animal cast, and Zeng depicts them with anthropomorphic expressions and gestures—but along with putting a positive moral spin on the benefits of welcoming refugees (of any species, including ours), both offer endnote introductions to wombats and other uniquely Australian creatures as well as, overall, raising awareness of the increasing threat and incidence of wildfires Down Under. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A sweet and simple cautionary tale, with a tip of the cap to the spirit of altruism.