Do we like them?

Do we like Wombat?

A character from Diary of a Wombat (2002)

Our score: 6 out of 10. Lazy, destructive and shamelessly bossy, but so deadpan and determined that we'd back her. Keep the carrots coming and hide the garden.

Diary of a Wombat is a 2002 award-winning picture book written by Jackie French and illustrated by Bruce Whatley. It is the tongue-in-cheek account of one unusually articulate wombat's busy week of eating, sleeping and digging holes, and of training her new neighbours, a family of humans, to produce treats on demand.

Between wrestling mysterious creatures and running her digging business, she has to teach her humans the art of timely carrot and oat delivery. But these humans are slow learners. The diary is written in short, flat entries, and the joke is how seriously she takes her own agenda.

The story is written, quite literally, as entries in a diary by a wombat named Mothball. One review says the artwork captures the playful, mischievous personality of Mothball.

We score her a 6. She is selfish, stubborn and hard on property, and she never claims to be anything else. She is also funny, tenacious and oddly lovable, and she is the kind of hero who gets what she wants by never giving up. We'd back her, as long as we get to keep our vegetable patch.