Wombat Waiting (Katherine Applegate)

 

Katherine Applegate is a master of wonderful animal stories. This is in verse - a quick read. It is a beautiful story. 

The cover is perfect....the yellow/red hue in the background is because of the forest fires happening in the story. Wombat is a dog...who looks kind of like a wombat. She follows her heart until she finds her family that is just right for her. Everyone is healed by her determination.

Picked this one for Grade 3 book club. Would also make a great read aloud. It is about hope and how being patient is sometimes needed in the face of loss and rebuilding your life. Kindness and thought for others goes a long way.

Characters

Wombat - a stray dog....people think she kind of looks like a wombat and so she gets named Wombat
Henry - young boy who is part of a family that has to flee their home suddenly. His mom works in an animal shelter. He is nervous around dogs because he was bit by one when he was younger
Barnabas - a fruitbat that was injured and so she cannot fly. Henry keeps her as a pet
Sylvie - Henry's younger sister. She and Henry evacuate with their family during the wildfire.
Mama Ro – Henry's mother, a veterinarian who works at O.W.L. (Orphaned Wildlife). She helps care for rescued animals displaced by the fire.
Mama J – This confused me. It took me a while to realize that she is Henry's other mother, who is a librarian. She supports her family and community during the evacuation. Nothing is said about them being a gay couple. It just is. It is not a major plot focus.
Silas – An older stray dog who befriends Wombat and tells her she may be a "destiny dog" searching for her special person. 
Northern Saw-whet Owl – A young owl rescued by the wildlife center and temporarily housed at the shelter after the fire.
Other Important "Characters"
The Voice - mysterious inner voice that guides Wombat's decisions and encourages her to move toward her destiny rather than away from danger. It isn't a character, but it plays an important role in the story.

Grade 3 book club ideas:

- if you had to pack up quickly and leave because of a fire, what would you for sure bring?
- watch Hatchiko (Katherine Applegate references this story in the afterward)
- write diary entries from the perspective of different characters (Wombat, Henry, Barnabas, another person at the shelter). Prompt: What were you thinking and feeling during your time at the shelter?
- "Waiting for..." Poetry Activity

Since the book is written in verse, students can create their own free-verse poem titled:

"Waiting for..."

Examples:

• Waiting for summer
• Waiting for a friend
• Waiting to be brave
• Waiting for good news

Discuss how waiting can feel hopeful, frustrating, or exciting.
- connect this to our Earth Systems unit in science or Extreme Weather unit in Open Court
Wildfire and Community Research Project

Students can research:

• How communities recover after wildfires
• Animal rescue organizations
• Ways people help during emergencies

They can present findings through posters, slides, or infographics. The book is set in the aftermath of a Southern California wildfire and highlights both community recovery and animal rescue efforts. 

- have a special guest speaker from an animal shelter. Perhaps they could bring some animals
- Theme Discussion Stations

Set up stations with big questions:

• What makes a family?
• Can animals and people help each other heal?
• What does resilience look like?
• Why is community important after a disaster?

Students rotate and add thoughts on chart paper.
- Story Map - Students create a visual map showing:

• The wildfire
• The shelter
• Key events
• Where important characters meet

This helps reinforce plot structure and cause-and-effect relationships.
- Kindness Challenge: Wombat becomes a source of comfort and hope for many people. Challenge students to complete one act of kindness each day for a week and record it in a "Wombat's Kindness Journal."
= Compare and Contrast

Compare:

• Wombat and Henry
• Wombat and a pet dog
• Life before and after the fire
• This book and another Katherine Applegate book such as The One and Only Ivan or Odder

Use a Venn diagram.
- "Destiny Dog" Writing Prompt

In the story, Wombat believes she is a "destiny dog" searching for her special person. Prompt: If you were guided by a mysterious voice toward your destiny, where would it lead you and why?
- Readers' Theatre - Choose several poems or scenes and have students perform them aloud.
- Community Helpers Appreciation Project

Students identify people who help during emergencies:

• Firefighters
• Veterinarians
• Animal rescue workers
• Librarians
• Volunteers

Have students create thank-you cards or a class appreciation wall.
- "Home Is..." Students to create a poster, collage, poem, or presentation answering:

What does "home" mean?

This ties together one of the book's central messages about belonging, safety, family, and hope.

Goodreads says:

From the Newbery Award-winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The One and Only Ivan and Odder comes a stunning new middle grade standalone novel about compassion, resilience, and surprising friendships, following a dog named Wombat in the aftermath of a catastrophic fire.

Wombat isn’t actually a wombat—but when the homeless dog is discovered, singed and ash-covered after a terrible fire destroys a community, someone tags her with the nickname and it sticks.

Wombat is a “destiny dog.” Something inside of her (she nicknames it “Voice’) keeps telling her there’s a special someone out there who is meant to be her person.

Surrounded by a devastated town, Wombat takes up residence on bench near the makeshift community center, an old brick warehouse that, for the most part, survived the flames. A small part of the community center evacuation site has been repurposed for the local wildlife rehab sanctuary that burned down. All of the animals were spared, and the temporary quarters include an elderly fruit bat and a young Northern saw-whet owl.

No matter what, Wombat refuses to move from her perch, despite the efforts of many humans. Clearly the dog is waiting for someone. But for whom? And what are the odds they survived?

Fans of modern classics like Because of Winn-Dixie , Pax , and Katherine Applegate’s own Crenshaw and Odder, and timeless tales like Charlotte ’ s Web , will find a friend in Wombat and her story.