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How to Avoid a Wombat's Bum How to Avoid a Wombat's Bum

by Mitchell Symons

Have you ever wondered how long it would take to walk to the sun (about 2,000 years, if you didn’t burn to a crisp!) And did you know that a snail has 25,000 teeth?

These and many other fascinating and funny facts can be found in this book, which is guaranteed to have you hooked for hours.

 

Sections include ‘The name of things you didn’t know had names’, ‘Toilet facts’ and ‘Stupid things people have said’ as well as animals, geography, words and numbers.

From the author of the Why Eating Bogeys is Good for You and How Much Poo Does an Elephant Do?

 

Publisher: Random House Children's Books

About the author

  • Mitchell Symons Photo: Random House
    Mitchell Symons Photo: Random House

    Mitchell Symons

    Mitchell Symons was born in 1957 in London and educated at Mill Hill School and the LSE, where he studied just enough law to get a Third. Since leaving BBC TV, where he was a researcher and then a director, he has worked as a writer, broadcaster and journalist. He... Read more about Mitchell Symons

Video & audio

  • How to Avoid a Wombat's Bum Booked Up video

  • How to Avoid a Wombat's Bum Booked Up video (signed version)

Featured reviews

I got this book only a week ago. Being a girl, people said it was a funny book...
Izzy
I liked finding out that my cat has a much better memory than my dog and that it...
Tilly
We think this book is amazing and very humorous because it has weird and abnormal facts inside. Our...
Suman and Adilah

Reviews

I got this book only a week ago. Being a girl, people said it was a funny book to choose, but this book is fabulous. Instead of me reading from page 1 and so on, I am just picking it up now and then and shouting out funny facts to my family and friends! I find this book hilarious because some of these facts, you'd think: WHAT? When would I ever need that. But then you read it again and think. HMM! This could be useful! It is a great book to choose and I highly recommend it to all year 7's that have a sense of humour. I very much enjoyed it and wanted to say Thank you to my school and Booked Up for giving me the opportunity to read something I enjoy. I don't particularly enjoy reading, but this book was fantastic. Thank you for this free book.

Izzy
St Michaels Middle
22 November 2010

We think this book is amazing and very humorous because it has weird and abnormal facts inside. Our favourite section is the tongue twisters - it's a real challenge to say them! It is also really suprising with all the facts because you never think they would be real.Such as if you rub an onion on your foot an hour later you can taste it in your mouth! I would recommend this book to everyone who loves comedy and likes reality!

Rating: 5 star
Suman and Adilah
hillcrest school and community arts college
20 October 2010

I liked finding out that my cat has a much better memory than my dog and that it can make over 100 different sounds while my dog can only make 10 (actually he can only make 2, so he must be a very dim dog.)

Rating: 5 star
Tilly
Steyning Primary
7 October 2010

This book is amazing! It is a endless book of facts.

Rating: 5 star
Ramisha
Westholme
31 May 2011

This book has so many fascinating facts which keep you hooked on to the book I recommend this book to people who are into all sorts of topics

Rating: 5 star
Hibah
Dixon City Academy
17 April 2011

dear mitchell symons, i like how too avoid wombats bum because it is funny and fascinating facts which is good for children because if a teacher was to say we are going to read a fact book it would be normal old and boring facts and it would have a boring title unlike this book how to avoid a wombats bum as a title is soo much better plus it isnt plain boring facts soo i would like too thanku for making a fact book not boring and to tell you tht i like this book yousr sincerley nadiya

Rating: 4 star
nadiya
albany
7 April 2011

this book was excellent. it was full of funny facts that made me laugh so loud my brother told me to Shut Up!!!! I love Mitchell Symmons!! He is very good but i like Anthony Horowitz better so that's why I rated this book a 4 rating.

Rating: 4 star
matthew
St Mary's R.C Primary School Newton Aycliffe
24 March 2011

I enjoyed this book. I came away from the book knowing lots more information. It isn't just information, it is interesting. Some of the facts made me laugh, some more serious. It is a factual book and is a book for people that want to know more and find out more. If you are one of those people, this is the book for you! It has everything you need to know from, Who Made The First Toilet? to How to Avoid A Wombat's Bum! I really like this book and I think you will too!

Rating: 4 star
Grace
Dixons City Academy
22 March 2011

this is a good book and it has a lot of amazing facts which I don't think anyone would know

hibah
dixons city academy
16 March 2011

This book is a facts book by Mitchell Symons, it has loads of facts that I didn’t know and weird facts too. I think that it a learning book for everyone and you should buy this book if you want a laugh. I would recommend this book to my friend who has a good laugh.

Rating: 3 star
shanice
dixons city acdemy
16 March 2011

Next time can you please make it a bit longer? First I thought I will be a boring story and when I got home I gave it to my sister and she said read it to me and I said “NO’’ but I said ok then I read it to her, I like it but it no “FAB’’ but it was a little bit too short and if it was a little bit long then we I will enjoy it a little bit more.

Rating: 5 star
umaymah
dixons city academy
16 March 2011

I think everyone should read this book it is funny and is full of facts. You should find this a good laugh with your mates. When you pick up the book you cannot put it down. I thought it’s a cool book to read would give this a 10/10.

Rating: 3 star
Reece
dixons city academy
16 March 2011

my friend told me this is a funny book so i hope to read it.

Rating: 5 star
hannah
kingsmead school hackney
3 March 2011

I thought this book was good because it was full of information and some facts which I didn't know before. I found out lots of facts like: It's impossible to fold a piece of paper 7 times and many more. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to learn different facts and this book is really good!

Rating: 4 star
Katie
Trinity School
6 February 2011

BRILL! loads of great facts, great for 10 year olds and would recommend for primary people.

Rating: 3 star
Matthew
Sir Graham Balfor
3 February 2011

this book is very interesting - it has lots of funny and gross facts. it keeps me going for hours and i hope when the next year 7s come to my school they will be able to get a free book like i did!

Rating: 3 star
emily
rydens
30 January 2011

This book is a fun loving book full of funny facts. i would recommend this book to people who like a laugh. The toilet facts are really cool especially the fact about Queen Elizabeth and the man who got kicked out of the group then invented the toilet presented it to her and got back into the group. This book was great fun to read!!!!!!!

Rating: 3 star
Fraser
Carr Hill
27 January 2011

It was a fun book to read with interesting facts. I liked the part about the longest worm in the world.

Rating: 5 star
Scott
Tiverton High School
26 January 2011

This book was very funny, with lots of weird facts like 'clue' means string beacause you unravel the clues of time and I thought that this fact was quite interesting. Overall I would recommend this book to everyone that likes weird and wonderful things.

Rating: 4 star
Harry
Denefield
26 January 2011

I think that all the facts were really funny and i really liked it. The fact i liked the most was " the only 15 letter word that does not repeat a letter is uncopyrightable ".

Rating: 4 star
Taylor
Denefield School
25 January 2011

It is a humourous book and is very entertaining!

Rating: 5 star
Matthew
Ringwood School
25 January 2011

This book is non-fiction and full of very interesting and intriguing facts that may even never have occurred to you. From historical inventions to celebrities' favourite football teams and scary trivia about creepy crawlies!


 


Who I would recommend this book to - all ages who are curious about intriguing facts. This book is very hard to put down. It is amusing, interesting and factual at the same time. I have most of these facts with my grandad who also enjoyed the book.


 


The best features of this book are- you will learn interesting facts- such as ‘Canada has more lakes than the rest of the world combined’, and ‘the word rodent comes from the Latin word ‘rodere’, which means to gnaw’. That you had no knowledge of before, you can share these facts with your family and friends who will want to borrow the book from you!


 


What I would like to see in this book- More interesting facts about swimming and Olympic swimmers as this is an area of great interest to me and on researching this area it is apparent that very little books have written about this popular sport. I would give this book 8 stars out of 10

Rating: 4 star
Tom
Carr Hill high school
24 January 2011

The book we read was"how to avoid a wombats bum" by Mitchell Symons. It is basically about cool facts about random stuff. For example: one of the first words spoken by the monkeys in Planet of the Apes is cheese. Personally we both loved this book and would recommend it to anyone.

Rating: 5 star
ben and iwan
denefeild school
24 January 2011

it has weird and wacky facts in e.g. a hedgehog's heart beats 190 time a minute and paris has more dogs than people in.this is a ***** star book and is very interesting.

Rating: 5 star
jared
carr hill high school
23 January 2011

How To Avoid A Wombat's Bum is really funny, full of amazing facts that I never knew. It is a strange but true book. :-)

Rating: 5 star
talitha
st . marys
21 January 2011

I thought this book was well good!!!!!!!!!! There were loads of interesting facts on every page!!!! I'd recommend this book to anyone!!!! There are also loads more fantastic books by Mitchell Symons such as, Why eating bogies is good for you and How much poo does an elephant do!!!!!!!!!

Rating: 5 star
Harry
St Mary's College
14 January 2011

A really good book, it's very funny and has amazing facts, anyone who wants a funny book should get this!

Rating: 5 star
Ciaran
St Marys College
14 January 2011

I thought this book was funny and interesting. It told me lots of odd facts and things I didn't know. It is a great book for people who enjoy finding out funny facts.

Rating: 5 star
Nathan
St Marys College
14 January 2011

This book was really interesting! It is a book for boys and girls that enjoy reading about factual knowledge from time to time. I recommend this book for anyone who likes funny and intriguing facts!

Rating: 5 star
Christopher
St. Marys College
14 January 2011

It is quite a funny book with lots of interesting facts in it. I think that it is aimed to children aged about 6-12ish years old, probably not for anyone older. It is a book where you read one or two pages at night then that is all, you can't get properly into it because it isn't like a proper reading book so after 2 or 3 pages you can start to get bored...

Rating: 3 star
Kali
St. Marys College Crosby
13 January 2011

I think this is a funny book because it gives you funny facts. this gives you facts about history and weird facts about you!!! This book is also good for learning. some of the facts didn't really make sense because they were so silly. you don't have to go through the book page by page, you can just flick to any page. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a funny book.

Rating: 4 star
Emily
St.Marys College Crosby
13 January 2011

9/10. The book was very good, amusing. some fun for 10-13yr olds. I like the part about hyenas. The pictures were very nice. but I had a problem about some of the facts - this was some facts were supposed to be amusing when they where UNAMUSING!!!

Rating: 4 star
Jemma
St.Mary's College Crosby
13 January 2011

I think this book was really weird ones, and interesting facts but some of them were a bit too slily.

Rating: 3 star
luke
St.Marys Collage
13 January 2011

This book has lots of interesting facts. It is exciting and fascinating, I really enjoyed reading it! Most of the facts were unknown to me and took me by surprise! I recommend this book to anyone who likes funny and exciting facts.

Rating: 5 star
Niamh
St. Mary's College Crosby
13 January 2011

In my opinion this book is a depressing volume of endless facts you will never use in your lifetime. Compared to his other book (why eating bogeys is good for you) it is boring and not as good.

Rating: 2 star
Sean
St. Marys Crosby
13 January 2011

How To Avoid A Wombat's Bum is an extremely funny book, it has some funny facts, some for the history and some which are well totally random!! Because the facts are so funny, strange and weird they stick in your head and you can just tell somebody a random fact. Another great thing is that you don't have to read it all at once, you can read it every now and again or whenever you want as it isn't a story. I thoroughly enjoyed it and if somebody isn't a good reader it doesn't matter because they're just random facts!! I recommend this book to anyone who loves a joke and isnt exactly a 'keen reader!!' I enjoyed this book and I hope you do to!!

Rating: 5 star
Mel
St Marys College, Crosby
13 January 2011

I really think this is a really fun book! I really liked it and it also gave you facts that I never knew. I recommend this book to people who like a bit of fun and a laugh.

Rating: 4 star
Nathan
St Marys College,Crosby
13 January 2011

The moment I was given my free book, I immediately put down my previous reading book from home and picked up the book I chose, 'How To Avoid a Wombat's Bum' By Mitchell Symons. I started flicking through the pages thinking this is the best book ever. I have also been reading it before I go to bed. This is the best book I have at home. I have read it through once and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am also reading it still. It never ever gets old!!!

Rating: 5 star
Euan
Cornwallis Academy
12 January 2011

How to avoid a wombat's bum! The title says it all. This book is jam-packed with completely useless and random facts. From celebrities' parents to complete wackos. This book is sure to make you laugh (or laugh your socks off in Jeremy Strong's case) This is just one of the books in a whole series of Mitchell Symons' books. And - if you didn't have the good fortune of choosing this book - it costs around £3.50. (Pocket money price! :) )

Rating: 5 star
Josh
Bishop Vesey's Grammar School
12 January 2011

I liked this book as it was fuuny. I didn't read it but I did enjoy the bits of it that I heard. I would recommed this to boys and girls of all ages.

Rating: 3 star
Chloe
St Marys College Crosby
12 January 2011

It's a great book full of new useful facts which can help you. It's a very interesting book. I read a funny fact in the book saying snails have about 25,000 teeth.

Rating: 5 star
Morgan
St Mary's College Crosby
12 January 2011

I really enjoyed the bits I heard of this book, it made me laugh and want to read it again. The funny facts were very interesting. I would recomend this to boys and girls of the age 9-14 because they would get the facts and laugh at them.

Rating: 1 star
Elisabeth
St.Mary's College, Crosby
12 January 2011

I thinks its a good book, it has jokes and other funny things and facts.

Rating: 4 star
ryan
st mary's college
12 January 2011

Funny facts that will make you hysterical, but no facts on how to avoid a wombat's bum! And recommended to 6-14.

Rating: 5 star
Nick
ST.MARYS College Crosby
12 January 2011

Good facts that will make you laugh but couldn't find any good facts on how to avoid a wombat's bum . :-) girls and boys 9 to 13 would like it! recommended.

Rating: 3 star
daniel
st marys college crosby
12 January 2011

It is good and filled with facts that I hadn't heard of before. It contains funny facts and is fun to read. It was good as you could open it at any page and read an interesting fact.

Rating: 4 star
Bertt
st mary's
12 January 2011

The first time i got this book I was so surprised at how interesting the book was, I would recommend it to any child that likes interesting facts and funny statements!!!!!!!

Rating: 5 star
trent
st marys
12 January 2011

I think the book was funny and interesting and I think that it's the best book in the world because it was full of pictures and jokes

Rating: 5 star
Aaron
st mary's college
12 January 2011

this book is sooo interesting and i would recommend to any kid who likes funny facts

Rating: 5 star
sam
st marys college
12 January 2011

this book is the best book ever

Rating: 5 star
trent
st marys
12 January 2011

i think this book is very factual and by reading this i can become cleverest of them all and i have learnt some amazing facts! Thank you booked up

Rating: 4 star
lucy
all saints chatholic highschool
7 January 2011

I was given this book for free from Booked Up, and i thoroughly enjoyed it. It had lots of interesting facts that were hard to believe, but made lots of sense. I recommend this for everyone as it is funny, fascinating and a fantastic book for everyone, 5 stars. WELL DONE MITCHELL SYMONS.

Rating: 5 star
lydia
sele school
5 January 2011

i really like the facts in the book and how you can just open it and find an informative and useful fact. i would definitely recommend this to someone else.

Rating: 4 star
harry
hanley castle high school
14 December 2010

it was fun

Rating: 4 star
ehtshaam
loxford school
14 December 2010

i think this book was great because it had lots of great facts and if you love knowing weird and cool facts this is the book for you

Rating: 5 star
saskia
The Romsey School
13 December 2010

how to avoid a wombats bum is a funny and interesting book other children would like this

Rating: 4 star
mitchell
rcs
13 December 2010

A book of pure trivia, and everyone's cup of tea. This book made me laugh and gag. Definitely worth reading.

Rating: 5 star
Nancy
Hanley Castle High School
13 December 2010

I think this is an excellent book and has got some fascinating facts.

Rating: 4 star
Neamatullah
cantell
12 December 2010

this book is so funny. i only got yesterday but i'm already learning these amazing facts!!!!

Rating: 4 star
iona
chelsea academy
10 December 2010

In the video it said that this book was an interesting novel. But when i read it i had a completely different opinion. I thought this book was totally out of order. I don't get the point of even thinking of rating this book.

Taylor
Bishop Challenor
10 December 2010

I really liked this book because it is probably the only one of its kind and I love reading fact books and then telling the facts over the dinner table (especially when the grandparents have come round).

Rating: 5 star
Peter
hanley castle high school
10 December 2010

It was brilliant and i loved every minute of it. i thought it was amazing and it's my fave book ever. i would advise anyone who wants to get this awesomely amazing book ever.

Rating: 5 star
Dan
Hanley Castle High School
10 December 2010

it was kinda boring. some facts were fun but it was boring, i fell asleep in the middle of it.

Rating: 1 star
Max
Hanley Castle High School
10 December 2010

I thought that this book was humourous and i loved to learn all the facts and show off at school when someone said anything related to the facts in the book. :)

Rating: 4 star
Victoria
Hal Green Secondary
7 December 2010

it has a lot of good facts and I have nearly all ready finished it. It has told me a lot more than I already know.

Rating: 4 star
Macaulay
huish episopi
7 December 2010

There are very good facts in this book. They are very funny and strange facts. But i think some of the facts aren't real.

Rating: 4 star
ryan
huish episcopi academy TA109SS Laqngport
7 December 2010

I think the book is alrightm, sometimes funny, but the book's title doesn't say the actual fact of it.

Rating: 5 star
Justine
Bishop Challoner Catholic Secondary school
7 December 2010

It was a great book because it was funny and the good thing is that you get great facts at the same time. When I read it it made me want to read loads more of the books like how eating bogies is good for you and loads more books.

Rating: 5 star
Jordan
Haberdashers' Aske's
6 December 2010

I really like the funny facts about the celebrity pets names and the celebrities that changed their names.

Rating: 4 star
Jack
Huish Episcopi Academy
6 December 2010

it is funny

Rating: 5 star
sam
amery hill
2 December 2010

this book is really good. it is funny and interesting at the same time. some of the facts are amazing! you can just pick it up and read bits of it, you don't have to read it in order.

Rating: 5 star
Alix
hailsham community collage
2 December 2010

This book contains lots of interesting facts! These facts are in categories. My favourite category is dishes from around the world because it contains loads of disgusting foods that really exist. My least favourite category is pure trivia because it's too complicated. I recommend this book to people who want to laugh or curious people that really want this book.

Rating: 5 star
Demie
Parkside Federation
2 December 2010

terrible i have not chuckled once and i love comedy books like adrian mole

Rating: 1 star
Jack
Valley park
1 December 2010

Personally i think how to avoid a wombats bum, written by michel symons, is not that good due to the fact its not really a story it just gives you facts. However if i needed a book which included interesting facts this would be the book i would choose because it has lots of useful information.


Some of the facts is from the past (first man on the moon ect.) but it also has modern facts like football and technical stuff. This book gives you lots of very interesting facts, which you wouldn't learn at school.


My favourite part of the story is when you get to all of the hilarious facts and interesting facts which you probably thought never existed, these are some examples: most dinosours were no bigger than chickens, a snail has about 25,000 teeth and last but not least no piece of paper can be folded more than 7 times.


My favourite character out of the whole book is the wombat due to the fact it's a main character and is the most hilarious one of all, i think overall this book is alright and some of the facts are really funny which i will give some credit to so this book is alright.

Rating: 2 star
adan
parkside federation
1 December 2010

This book has amazing facts which would blow your minds away! It will make you laugh and it will make you think. I think it is a good book for children aged 7 and up.

Rating: 5 star
Nathan
Goffs School
30 November 2010

one of the funniest craziest books i have ever read

Rating: 4 star
dominic
QEH
30 November 2010

rubbish. worst book i have ever read in my life

Rating: 1 star
charleigh
red maids
30 November 2010

it was a cool read, it has lots of cool facts in it. mitchell symons is like a legend man, he's the best.

Rating: 5 star
yannick
QEH
30 November 2010

i think this book was very good and would recommend it and the rest of his books as well

Rating: 5 star
leah
harris middle school
30 November 2010

This book is brilliant, it has lots of fascinating facts like 'Strawberries are part of the rose family', 'Cashews are part of the stinging nettle family', 'Wombats can run at 25mph and can stop in half a stride, they kill there predators like that because the predator chases after the wombat, the wombat stops and the predator smashes its face into the wombat's bum bone', all those facts you'd rarely find anywhere else.

Rating: 5 star
Lewis
Harris Middle School
30 November 2010

I thought the book was really funny and it told me facts that i've never even heard before. Thanks

Rating: 5 star
James
St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive
29 November 2010

Hilarious. Don't want to stop reading it.

Rating: 5 star
Josh
Holmfirth High School
29 November 2010

A very funny and interesting book to read with many strange and weird facts.

Rating: 4 star
nick
Holmefirth High School
26 November 2010

It is full of epic facts and a great book to read

Rating: 3 star
Jack
Brandeston Hall
25 November 2010

this is the best fact book ever! i love this book. i know now that my gold fish is a twit, the first ready made breakfast and so much more stuff!

Rating: 5 star
george
manningtree high school
25 November 2010

I think that "How to avoid a wombats bum" is a great book, all the facts in it are fascinating and there is a lot of different facts that are all very funny. Mitchell Symons has written the book very well and I recommend it to any one who wants a bit of a laugh or just wants a good factual read.

Duncan
manningtree high school
25 November 2010

I think this is a brilliant book full of great facts and perfect for a year 7 pupil. I was very suprised by all the interesting facts. I loved it.

Rating: 5 star
david
the cooper school bicester
25 November 2010

The weird, the wacky, the wonderful - from the toilet with jets sprays to how to avoid a wombat's bum. It was hilarious but educational at the same time. I really enjoyed this book

Rating: 4 star
Matthew
Richard Coates Church Of England Middle School
24 November 2010

One book. Full of wonderful facts. About randon stuff. This book is my ideal book because I find it hard to get into a book, but the thing I like most about this you can flick to a page and find something new and wonderful. There are facts about celebrities, animals and much more! I recommend to people who are like me.

Rating: 4 star
William
Richard Coates C of E Middle School
24 November 2010

the book was awesome i loved it

Rating: 5 star
hew
fernhill
23 November 2010

It is really interesting and you can't stop reading.

Rating: 3 star
Joseph
Bishop Challoner
22 November 2010

It's a really interesting book and has funny facts that I have never known before.

Rating: 5 star
Samiul
Central Foundation Boys' School
21 November 2010

I only read this book because there was nothing else to read, and I don't like rude books, or at least books with rude titles! But, after reading the first few pages, I was quite impressed with the facts! And I don't like the title, because there is nothing in the book about HOW to avoid a Wombat's bum, only that they use it to defend themselves, Mitchell Symons should have chosen a more appropriate title, as it has nothing to do with the book. But all in all, I enjoyed reading the facts and learning lots!

Rating: 3 star
David
Bishop Wordsworths'
18 November 2010

This a great book full of fun facts, a lot quite weird and wonderful. Where is the biggest McDonald's? When was ice cream invented? These are just two of the many facts in this book. I would reccomend this book to 10-13 year olds who like a laugh

Rating: 5 star
Conor
Stoke Newington School
18 November 2010

I like this book because it's extremly hilarious and it tells you facts about the world, I use the book to amaze my family and friends, its actually quite funny as when I explain the facts i've just read to them they always say "WOW" or other random things like that. The reason why I have chosen this book is because the title is funny. And yes if your wondering I did judge the book by the cover.

Rating: 4 star
Christian
Stoke Newington School
18 November 2010

I think the Wombat's Bum was a funny book because it has funny facts. They had famous people that are my favorite celebrities. It has funny facts for example "The most impossible item to flush is a ping pong ball''. This is a 9+.

Rating: 5 star
Waiel & Nicolas
Stoke Newington School
18 November 2010

I think ' how to avoid a wombats bum is a good book because i open any page and still be amazed by the cool facts! I recommend this amazing book to kids from 7-13 because this book is too cool and anyone who loves great facts about celebritries to animals! The only down side the book has to end!

Rating: 4 star
Shabeil
Stoke newington Secondary School
18 November 2010

I like this book because of all the facts in it. There are weird ones which you'll still be wonderin WHY? after an hour and there are funny ones where you'll be left laughing for an hour. i'd recomend this book to anyone with a good sense of humour.

Joshua
Bishop Vesey Grammar school
17 November 2010

I think this book is really good, it is hilarious.

Rating: 5 star
009
New-Bridge Integrated College
15 November 2010

This book keeps you hanging on until the end. No matter what but you'll always learn something new, I learnt A LOT of things, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to learn.... Keep reading.

Gloria
The Duston School
13 November 2010

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