Sebastian Lives in a Hat

Sebastian lives in a hat is well written but the story is really told and reaches a higher level through the detailed realistically sketched illustrations. It is a classic great book (written in 1985) to teach children of the important role that wildlife carers do (although it does portray the experience to be a bit simpler and easier than it is in reality, but this is a kids book after all). What makes this story work so well is that Sebastian is an actual normal wombat and not one taking on human child traits, other than on the last page where grown up he's wearing a hat he is portrayed as an orphaned animal would be. The imagery throughout is child friendly when it needs to be such as the mother killed by a car is not squashed with blood and guts hanging out of her like would obviously be the case in real life but the majority is very realistic looking. Sebastian Lives in a Hat is the tale of a wombat whose mother was hit by a car (an important lesson to teach children who can remind their parents when driving at night to look out for wildlife), and how he is nursed into an adult wombat. The book maybe could have said what happened to Sebastian in adult life, especially since it was a true story, but then again we don't know what really happened, it might unfortunately not be the positive ending children would be looking for so maybe we are better of making our own suggestions such as he went to a wildlife park to educate school children. This book would be an excellent motivation for a teacher or someone to use for a class of children to do a small fundraiser for injured wildlife organisations such as Wildcare in Australia, wildlife animal hospitals or to donate towards research and breeding programs for the endangered northern hairy nosed wombat. All over the world there are similar carers and causes, a good book to motivate others. Another good educational children's picture book that portrays animals such as they actually are and not as human type characters is Python by Pauline Reilly.

"Sebastian lives in a hat. It's a brown woollen hat. Sebastian is a pink fuzzy wombat." Australian Marsupials are iconic to the Australian image; kangaroos, koalas, possums, wallabies and bandicoots all belong to this special group of animals. These animals are wild and often roam close to our highways, resulting in a lot of road accidents. Australians are taught from a young age that if you accidentally hit and kill one of these animals it is important to check it's pouch for a baby. "Sebastian lives in a hat" explores the care needs of a baby wombat after it's mother dies in a car accident. As a kindergarten teacher with over 10 years experience I can honestly say that there would be few kindergartens in Australia that does not have this book in their library. This book won best children's book in the 1985 Whitley Awards, and was shortlisted for the Australian Picture book of the year in 1986. It is beautifully illustrated and teaches the important concept of caring for orphaned animals. This book is not patronizing, as suggested by the editorial, it is written simply so to be understood by young children. The gaps in this book, as also suggested in this editorial, will serve to promote questions from your child that will generate further interest to know more about such concepts as Australian animals, mammals and marsupials, indigenous animals to your own Country, special care for animals etc. Please do not dismiss this book, based on the above editorial, it is an excellent story with important messages and concepts.

My mother used to read this book to me when I was a child and it was one of my favourites (I also loved Koala Lou and Samantha Seagulls Sandals). I think the editorial on this book is way too harsh and neglects the consideration that books geared towards the very young are usually written for an adult to read out loud to the child. When an adult reads to a child reading can become a way to explore new ideas, such as learning what a pouch is. I love this book and have given it as a gift to many youngsters.

I'm a college student, and my roomie, from Australia, read this book to me. It's not only a wonderful book with whimsical value for a college girl, but also gives great lessons for children about rehabbing animals. The pictures are adorable!