Tag Eva Papoušková

George the Brave

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George the Brave
Eva Papoušková and Galina Miklínová
Graffeg

It’s off to Australia for this tale of a little wombat called George. I learned something about wombats like George before reading the story book for there’s an information page at the start. Did you know that in addition to being protected by law on account of their rareness, wombats are able to protect themselves by thrusting their rear ends at an enemy.

Let’s meet our protagonist George, and his friends. Fred the Kangaroo, Annie the Goose and Lizzie the Mouse invite George to join them in some games one day. Having got permission from his parents and a warning to be on the lookout for possible dangers in the form of hungry predators, he demonstrates his life-saving moves and off he goes to the dark woods to meet his pals. Their first game is hide and seek and when it’s George’s turn to be the seeker, he hides his eyes and starts singing a little song. However upon uncovering them he finds himself face to face with Wilma the Fox. Eek!

Now Wilma is a sly creature with her mind on her next tasty meal. To that end she invites George to show her his home and when he wants to know why, she’s gets angry. After all an entire wombat family is much more satisfying that one little one.

George is suspicious and sensing danger, flees as fast as he can. The trouble is, Wilma too has fast paws and is hot on his trail. Now is the time for George to be truly brave and use that strong, bony bottom of his.

Is it enough to do the necessary? Let’s say that Wilma loses more than just a tasty meal on account of his bum-thrusting stance. 

And George? He’s learned an important life lesson about facing one’s fears – kind of!

Young children will relish George’s new story with its embedded wombat fact. With that big surprise, superb cross-hatched illustrations and dryly humorous text, it’s both lots of fun and informative. It also offers a good starting point for a circle time discussion about standing up for yourself.

George the Wombat

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George the Wombat
Eva Papoušková and Galina Miklínová
Graffeg

Did you know that like all his fellow wombats, George produces cube-shaped poos? That’s when he manages to poo at all, and even more importantly do so in his potty.

Pooing in his potty is what his mum has told the little creature he must do before he can go into the forest and dig a burrow. Being an obedient marsupial, George goes and sits on his potty but sitting on your lonesome upon your potty (or otherwise) is more than a little boring.

Fortunately though it’s not long before George’s pal Fred the kangaroo hops up and invites George to join him in some grass gobbling. George explains his problem and so Fred suggests something to help shift things along within. Still nothing happens, so Fred hops off leaving the wombat to keep trying.

Next to arrive is Annie goose and she too has a suggestion, but this doesn’t do the job either.

Lizzie mouse’s tip proves equally unsuccessful

only serving to make George’s eyes almost pop out, which puzzles Daddy Wombat as he walks by.

Now Daddy wombat knows a thing or two so maybe, just maybe he can solve the poo problem once and for all so that his offspring is free to remove his botty from his potty and embark on some tunnelling.
Translated by Alexandra Büchler, this tale of friendship, helpfulness and of course, poo, is great fun to share whether or not you have a little one at the potty training stage. With its repeat refrains and gentle humour throughout the telling, a humour that is superbly underscored in Galina Miklínová’s cross-hatched illustrations showing the cuddlesome creature endeavouring to follow instructions and produce the goods, this book will delight both youngsters and adults, all of whom will relish the potty-sitting sequences.