Wombat and the Family Tree by Marietta Apollonio is an adorable children's story with eye-catching illustrations. The Wombat has to fill out a family tree assignment, learning about his family members and what they did to contribute. This is a great story for little kids, getting them to ask questions and learn about their own family tree.

This book is a great read for elementary school children to teach perserverance. Everyone has something special about them and it takes wombat a little longer to discover what makes him special. Great read with an option to make a family tree in the back of the book.

This was an adorable children's book. I love genealogy and instilling the same joy in others, and this book is a great way to discuss genealogy and family history with young children. I also loved the exploration of finding your "something." Genealogy is my "something," and I liked the way it could prompt children to think of what their interests are.

Characters 4/5
Plot 4.5/5
Storytelling 5/5
Enjoyment 4/5
Atmosphere 3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

As someone who grew up wondering about family history and my ancestors, I thought this book was super charming. If I had a child, I would share this book with them. I loved the adorable illustrations.


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Very sweet story. Helps young readers understand that everyone is different but everyone has their purpose.

Beautiful illustrations and message.

This is a simple learning book for younger kids with great illustrations and explanations. Wombat"s journey is a good clue for kids about future discoveries. And the last several pages offer some family tree fun. Would be perfect for kids aged six-eight, when kids sit down long enough to complete the tasks in bursts.

This book was super cute! I felt like this maybe could have a slightly different story in which Wombat explores what his ‘something’ is without the family tree aspect at first, but I liked that it all tied together at the end. Many children struggle with the idea of being good at something when their family members all have a thing and I loved that his family supported his exploration and his final ‘something’ in the end. I also loved the inclusion of the personal authors note in the beginning and the activities at the end of the book! This would be a great book to add into a lesson plan about family.

What a fun title to introduce children to learning about their genealogy. Wombat comes home with a school project about his family. He learns that everyone has a skill, but he isn't sure what he can do, so he tries new activities. Everything is a failure. Of course he will be surprised at the end about what he does best.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I love the story about Wombat exploring his family and learning about their history. The illustrations are beautiful and the wombats are stinking adorable. However, I don’t love the idea that we all have one “something” that we are great at or that someone as young as wombat should be expected to find out what that something is. Some of us are good at many different things and don’t have one single thing that defines us. Others take most of their lives to find something that feels that special to them. I’d hate to have a kiddo feel pressure to find something and stick with it at such a young age. I would probably read this with my own kids and focus more on the family part of the story. I’d also probably have a discussion about not trying to hard to find their “something” but instead exploring and trying lots of different things.

Wombat researches his family. He learns about relatives and searches for what makes him unique. There are places to add your family research and include photos.

A little story about a wombat who is trying to decide what makes him stick out on his family tree. It encourages you to be yourself and find your own way. There is an area at the back of the book for where kids can make their own family tree. This would be a good book to go over if your child is learning about ancestors in school.
I received an advanced reading copy of this book for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A cute introduction to family trees and genealogical research, delivered via wombats. Would be good for classroom use.

This book had beautiful illustrations and a really sweet message. The author's note also included opportunities to learn some new vocabulary words. This is a darling book for younger kids to facilitate asking questions about where they come from.

I enjoyed the concept of this book and think it would be helpful for children who struggle to find something that they are good at and that makes them unique. I did feel as though the book might be a bit confusing to young readers, since it doesn’t really explain what a family tree is. Overall, I liked the message of a supportive family and discovering what makes you special.

Wombat is assigned a family tree assignment at school. He starts talking to his family members and he realizes that they all have a special something that they are good at. He realizes that he doesn't have a special something. He decides to try all the different talents he's learned about from his family members. None of them work for him though. With a nudge from his family to try again, Wombat works on his family tree project and finds his own something.
I read this book to my 7 and 9 year old and they both enjoyed it. I thought the story was cute and I loved the family aspect about it. I loved the illustrations. I also love the activities in the back of the book to do. I'm a homeschooling mom and I think it'll be pretty cool to incorporate this into one of my lessons.
When I asked my children what they thought, my 7 year old said "I love it!" My 9 year old said, "I thought it was cute because his family helped him find his special thing."

I loved this story about a wombat discovering his family tree and his own special talent. That added a thoughtful layer to the story beyond explaining the concept of a genealogy that I enjoyed. The illustrations are so cute, and I had so much fun reading everyone’s name that began with W. An excellent choice to read aloud to young children!

Thank you NetGalley and Tommy Nelson for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Wombat has to do a family tree project. As he interviews more and more members of the family, he notices that everyone has something and he doesn't. This leads to a quest to find his something so he can add it to the family tree.

I loved this book, I read it to my niece and though she is too young to fully understand it, I will keep reading it to her. It teaches kids that they shouldn’t give up on finding out who they are, and trying new things. That when the time comes it will present itself! ❤️

Love it! This is a more modern and healthy take on what it means to be a family and who to add on a family tree. This is a book I could see being healing for people who felt like traditional family trees with only relatives through blood and marriage were insufficient. A must add, with very cute illustrations.

This children's book tells the story of Wombat, whose school project is to create a family tree. As he discovers his ancestors and relatives, Wombat realises they all have a little "something" that makes them special and unique. Wombat wonders whether he, too, has a "something" that makes him special as well.

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This was a cute story, but I would have expected it to be more about the "family" part instead of the "individual" part--especially after reading the author's note (which I found lovely), I thought the story would focus more on 'What a family can look like'.

Still, it was good, and the message, though not the one I expected, is an important one too.