Angel Pearce (Children's Book and Play Review, March 2007)
A new baseball season is at hand, and the Champs are ready to play. They have a secret weapon this year, Wombat. Thinking that his size will help them beat the other teams, they are in for a surprise when they discover Wombat has no idea how to play. He becomes an unlikely hero when a tornado threatens to ruin the game for everyone. This is Lester at her Wodney Wat and Score One for the Sloths finest. This book is an excellent addition for school and public libraries and one that correlates with many children's interest in baseball. Batter Up Wombat would be a good story to share with a captive audience as a companion to Chickens to the Rescue for a discussion of heroes in books. Rating: Outstanding. Reading Level: All. Category: Picture books. 2006, Houghton Mifflin, 32 p., $16. © 2002, Brigham Young University.

Heidi Hauser Green (Children's Literature)
Still smarting from last season’s disappointing last-place finish, the Champs--an unlikely baseball team comprised of an odd assortment of small North American critters--are hopeful this year will be better. Just before the first game, a stranger approaches. Compared to them, he’s huge! Best of all, they think he’s a “Wham bat,” and what could be better for baseball than that? Sure, the wombat has never played baseball before, but he’s eager to make friends so he suits up and gets ready to play ball. The trouble is, the whole game confuses him. Steal third?--What should he do with it? Get under a pop-up?--How ludicrous! Go home?--Don’t they know how far that would be? He doesn’t know how to hold a bat, much less swing it, and his skills in the outfield are nonexistent. In short order, the team is losing badly. But when the unexpected happens, this odd newcomer can still save the day! Helen Lester’s story is sure to delight children who understand the lingo of the game, while Lynn Munsinger’s fun illustrations add to the hilarity of the slapstick humor. 2006, Walter Lorraine/Houghton Mifflin, $16.00. Ages 4 to 8.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2006 (Vol. 74, No. 13))
The Champs weren't," writes Lester, introducing Munsinger's hairy, delightful baseballers. Concisely so, but only from the vantage point of runs scored. Into their unsuspecting, winless ranks marches a hairy, delightful wombat (a sturdily built Australian marsupial, for those as clueless about wombats as this wombat is about baseball). The sport may bewilder the wombat, but the Champs think his name is powerfully suggestive-"Wham! Bat!"-and the wombat is tickled by baseball's allusive jargon, literally interpreting such items as "a pitcher stands on a mound," "the catcher wears a mask" and, best of all, "the hitter hits a foul," with the image coming to his mind of a chicken getting clobbered by a boxing glove. While the wombat doesn't deliver the big hits the Champs expected, he does dig them a storm cellar into which they retreat (it seems the Champs are forever retreating into one cellar or another) when a tornado invades their playing field. Comically absurd wordplay and Munsinger's typically goofy art make this an unbeatable combination. 2006, Walter Lorraine/Houghton Mifflin, 32p, $16.00. Category: Picture book. Ages 4 to 8. © 2006 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Bonnie Burkhart (The Lorgnette-Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 19, No. 4))
The Champs baseball team is ready for a new season, hoping they don’t finish last again. They are excited when Wombat, whose name they think is Whambat, arrives. Wombat is from Australia and isn’t familiar with baseball terminology, so when they tell him to “steal third base” or “catch the fly,” he has an entirely different idea of what they want him to do. This is a cute story with many good examples of wordplay. It is also a good example of a youngster trying to fit in with a new group. The illustrations are entertaining and really add to the story. Fiction. Grades K-3. 2006, Walter Lorraine Books, 32p., $16.00.