Hi Disco, have you ever read the Muddle-Headed Wombat books? I grew up in the middle of middle-class southern England, but our books often came from car boot sales so we had the most eclectic collection. I ended up with a copy of the Muddle-Headed Wombat in the Springtime – I don’t remember the story but I’ve never forgotten the title, or that it was a suitably outback orange colour.
That and Crocodile Dundee a year or two later and I was madly in love with the idea of Australia, although it took me until I was nearly 40 before I finally made it for a visit, in late 2014. (We didn’t make it to the north that time, although I will come back, I swear - hopefully not when it’s so hot… :-/ ) But the one wombat I saw, at the Healesville Sanctuary in Victoria, had the nerve to be asleep! At least the koalas made up for it :-)
The Muddle-Headed Wombat is fucking adorable! I love him and Tabby. I was never too keen on Mouse though, but It think that’s because Mouse was the voice of reason, and I much preferred shenanigans.
They’re great stories, and you can still buy them!