what people are saying about riley and the grumpy wombat

Children will thoroughly enjoy gliding around in Riley’s red plane discovering the Victorian treasures not realising that they are absorbing a geography lesson as they do so. - Jackie Hosking, Pass It On

What really sets this simple story apart from the rest is the illustrative style. Pratt has overlayed black and white photographs of Victorian landmarks with eye-catching coloured depictions of Riley and his menagerie. At each location Riley reveals yet another masterful invention to help with his search—everything from: automated whiz-bang ground-hugging projectiles to fandangled hifalutin patented doodads. - author Jenny Mounfield, The Compulsive Reader

Tania has adopted some sophisticated language throughout the book, using words such as cantankerous, unfurled, hifalutin and desperation. The vocabulary is well supported by an accessible storyline and dynamic illustrations though, helping children add rich and creative words to their vocabularies. - Jackie Small, My Little Bookcase

This is an exceptional production with black and white photographs of all the Melbourne landmarks in the background. The contraptions are as interesting as the language. The whole book is entertaining and educational; funny and light-hearted. It is wonderfully planned and illustrated. - Vicki Stanton, Buzzwords

Riley and the Grumpy Wombat is a travelogue with clear educational benefits, but it also features endearing characters and an engaging story line. I really enjoyed the language in this book and the way the author imparts knowledge, but doesn’t talk down to readers. - author Dee White, Kids' Book Capers


The story is simple and easy to follow and the sense of adventure will appeal to the six to ten year old target audience. The language is accessible to early readers within this age group; however, it is also peppered with colourful and more advanced verbs, nouns and adjectives that will advance older readers such as cantankerous, ambled and unfurled. - book reviewer Francine Sculli, The Book Chook


A neat introduction of the sights of Victoria, this will be well used in classrooms where books about Australia are there for younger children to research, particularly in light of 2012 being The National year of Reading, and using Alison Lester's book, Are we there yet? as its theme. - book reviewer Fran Knight, Read Plus


Why do I love Riley’s adventures so much? Well, it is not just because Riley is such a sweetie, I love the way Riley explores and teaches us about the city he happens to be in. The illustrations are wonderful; a delightful mix of photographs and cartoons (these books would be great to bring along on a trip to any of these places).  Guaranteed to get your child’s imagination fizzing; buy one and you won’t be able to resist the rest of the set. - Angela Hall, Bug in a Book

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