It arrived!!!

Weeks ago I signed up for a book swap with Zoe @ Playing by the Book. She matched me up with Megan @ Somewhere Along a Winding Path. The coolest part? Megan lives in Australia! I was so excited to find an air mail package on my front porch this morning, I could hardly wait for E to get home from school. (Okay, I'll admit it. I didn't wait. But Megan had wrapped the book separately, so I was forced to.)

When E got home, she wasted no time tearing open the package. There were two smaller wrapped items inside.

The first turned out to be an adorable fuzzy stuffed animal which A immediately adopted.

The second package was the book Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French.

A-ha! Our adorable stuffed animal is a wombat! E dove right in, and we were both tickled with this clever little story about a week in the life of a carrot-loving, itchy-skinned, annoying and adorable wombat.

The book is written from the wombat's point of view as she records her daily activities of sleeping, scratching, and training a human family to feed her carrots. I love the blase tone the wombat takes in describing her adventures and efforts to obtain food from the humans. The illustrations are lovely and almost make me wish I had a wombat of my own to tear up my front door and destroy my outdoor furniture. (Seriously, after reading this book, I'll never complain about our neighborhood raccoons again!)

Megan is clearly a sweetheart, and I loved the extra little touches she added, like the adorable tape across the package flap and the stamped paper she wrapped the book in.

Thanks, Megan, for introducing my girls to such a great story from your country!!! It's a big hit, as is the toy. E is currently scratching Mothball on items around the house and every now and then demanding a carrot. :)