A perpetually losing, all-small-animal baseball team is excited when a big wombat shows up to play. Alas, Wombat is more like Amelia Bedelia when it comes to the rules of the game (hit a fowl?), but his super-digging skills excel when a tornado strikes. The contrived conclusion lets down the promising premise, but the dialogue and line-and-watercolor pictures are lively. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

PreS-Gr 2-Once again, Lester and Munsinger tell a comical story, this time about a wombat who is recruited to play baseball in the North American Wildlife League. The Champs, who finished in last place during the previous season, eagerly embrace Wombat, a rugby star from Australia, whose name they mistake as "Whambat." However, the newcomer has difficulty getting a grip on the game, and readers will howl at his literal interpretations of baseball lingo. When the Champs play a team of raccoons, frazzled Wombat becomes a liability for his team. That is, until the sky darkens and a tornado rapidly approaches, leaving the players exposed on the field until Wombat digs a tunnel where everyone takes refuge. Lester's story will hold children's attention and sends the message that everyone is good at something. Munsinger's whimsical watercolor artwork, filled with personified animals, adds to the fun. Young baseball fans will welcome this zany book.-Lynn K. Vanca, Akron-Summit County Public Library, Richfield, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

"The Champs weren't," writes Lester, introducing Munsinger's hairy, delightful baseballers. Concisely so, but only from the vantage point of runs scored. Into their unsuspecting, winless ranks marches a hairy, delightful wombat (a sturdily built Australian marsupial, for those as clueless about wombats as this wombat is about baseball). The sport may bewilder the wombat, but the Champs think his name is powerfully suggestive--"Wham! Bat!"--and the wombat is tickled by baseball's allusive jargon, literally interpreting such items as "a pitcher stands on a mound," "the catcher wears a mask" and, best of all, "the hitter hits a foul," with the image coming to his mind of a chicken getting clobbered by a boxing glove. While the wombat doesn't deliver the big hits the Champs expected, he does dig them a storm cellar into which they retreat (it seems the Champs are forever retreating into one cellar or another) when a tornado invades their playing field. Comically absurd wordplay and Munsinger's typically goofy art make this an unbeatable combination. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Last year the interspecies team, the Champs, finished last in the National Wildlife league, so when a huge wombat wanders on the field, the teammates are delighted--they think he's a superhitting Whambat. Wombat, who is from Australia, has his own linguistic misconceptions: he envisions a ceramic pitcher on the mound. But once the teams take the field, Wombat's woeful inabilities with baseball and with the lingo are evident: the rival team is thrilled that he's catching flies with a swatter. Wombat is frazzled, exhausted, and very sad, and so are his teammates. Redemption comes in the form of a tornado. Wombat's one skill is digging tunnels, and before the twister lands, he has burrowed a dugout that keeps the players safe and sound. This amusing piece of sports-themed wordplay is another brick in Lester and Munsinger's strong, sturdy collaboration. Big ol' Wombat's comeback will hearten kids whose sports skills may not be up to par, and everyone will have lots of laughs. --Ilene Cooper Copyright 2006 Booklist