We highly recommend the book “Wombat Poos are Square” written by Sophie Gillies and illustrated by Karen Erasmus, for young preschool children. This book is also excellent for school children (from five to eight) to read independently, for reading to younger siblings, or for an adult to read with children in their classroom/home. Both Patrick and Oliver found the book very funny and loved the illustrations. It is beautifully written and illustrated and provides scientific information about Australian native animals and their interrelationship with their environment in a fun and engaging way. The story takes you on a imaginary sensory experience, with the smell of eucalyptus or fish, feeling the coolness of a termite’s mound on a hot day and visualising the texture of squishy green duck poos, or poos sparkling in the sun.

Patrick said he liked the name of the book, “wombat poos are square, because they are.” He added, “the book is good as it is all about poo and my brother, Oliver, loves hearing about poo.” Patrick gives the book a rating of ten out of ten and even higher after reading the section at the back of the book “more about poo” and the glossary.

Poo is a topic that is very much enjoyed by young children, so they are likely to fully engage with this story and in the process learn more about Australian native animals and their habitats. The book cleverly provides information in rhyme about the diet of a range of native animals. It offers children the opportunity to identify the poo of native animals in the Australian environment. This can increase children’s awareness of their surroundings and animal habitat and perhaps develop a sense of wonder when they discover new things. Children are curious about their world, and it is important to develop this curiosity and a sense of wonder about their local natural environment (Bjerknes et al., Reference Bjerknes, Wilhelmsen and Foyn-Bruun2024; Carson, Reference Carson1965). Developing a sense of wonder in children is an important part of education (Wolbert & Schinkel, Reference Wolbert and Schinkel2021) and a key part of developing children’s respect for the natural environment (Schinkel, Reference Schinkel2018). This book stimulated a sense of wonder about the natural environment for both Patrick and Oliver. Patrick and Oliver identified wombat poo when we were walking in the bush after reading the book. We also now know that the sparkly poo that often appeared around our house in the rainforest was echidna poo (we sometimes see echidnas under the house).

Patrick and Oliver learnt other new things from the book. Oliver learnt that stingrays do their poos in the water. Patrick learnt that scientists study poo, and he was not aware of this before reading the book and was intrigued that scientists do this.

The book subtly provides information about animal behaviour, food chains and food webs and the significance of the natural recycling of poo in our environment. Patrick learnt about phytoplankton from the book and how whale poo feeds the phytoplankton. He was amazed to read that much of the air that we breathe comes from phytoplankton. He did have knowledge of plankton, but he loved learning that there are different types of plankton and the role phytoplankton plays in our survival. After reading the book Patrick wanted to know more about phytoplankton and how phytoplankton differs from zooplankton leading to a discussion about food chains and food webs. Additionally, Patrick wanted to learn more about certain animals from the “More about poo” section of the book and the glossary. He was captivated when observing dung beetles rolling their dung balls at our home (a few months earlier) and was keen to learn more about these animals from the book.

It is also a great book for educators and parents to further their knowledge about native animals and the interrelationships of living things. The book provides stimulation for discussion with children about a wide range of topics relating to the environment and the significance of the interconnection of all things, including the role poo plays in oxygen production. Patrick thought that all wombats were brown but the wombat in the book was grey. This stimulated a discussion about the range of colours of wombats and why they might be different colours. If children ask questions about an animal while reading the book the information at the back of the book provides a range of answers. There are also tips about observing poos safely for children who might be interested in identifying poo in the natural environment.

This book is fun to read and packed full of information that is factual as well as encouraging children to learn more about the Australian environment. It is clever in that it is very simply written (with attractive illustrations), keeping a three-year-old child engaged.

When reading the information about emus, Oliver said, “birds don’t fart, for goodness sake!” Patrick also learnt this interesting fart fact about birds from the book. Tasmanian devil’s poo containing whole toes and claws fascinated Patrick and he wondered if they chew their own toes but the information in the “More about poo” section provided clues about where the toes and claws might come from. Oliver and Patrick were also very surprised that baby koalas eat their mother’s poo!

Furthermore, Patrick and Oliver were amused by the illustration of the dog sniffing poo on the jetty. They said it must be seal poo even though it looked like dog poo as there was a seal nearby, but they thought that the dog was making a funny face because the poo had a fishy smell.

It is a book that can be read numerous times with/by children, and they learn about different animals each time. The reading of this book could be followed up by a walk to identify some of the animals that are represented in the book, particularly birds, reptiles or invertebrates, and discuss their behaviours, or to observe and learn about other local animals that might not be represented in the book. A fun follow up sensory activity in an education setting or home would be for the children to make models with clay or playdough of the animal’s poo that is represented in the book,

This wonderful book is available in hardcover from CSIRO Publishing or a range of book sellers.