ALA Booklist (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

In this lovable sequel to Lester's Noni the Pony (2012) and Noni the Pony Goes to the Beach (2015), Noni the pony and her friends Dave (a dog) and Coco (a cat) are walking through the hills when they meet a little wallaby: "It's a wallaby joey, all on his own, / who says in a soft voice, I want to go home.'" As they stroll down the road, they call out to Koala, Wombat, Emu, and other animals, but no one has seen the wombat family. Joey sniffles, then sobs, but when he goes home with Noni, Coco, and Dave, he finds his family there searching for him. Lester has a gift for writing verse that sounds completely natural when read aloud. Created with pencil, watercolors, and collage, her artwork features appealing characters and landscapes rendered in soft black lines, rounded forms, and rich, gentle hues. Even when Joey breaks down and cries, something in Lester's pleasing rhymes and pictures conveys the soothing message that all will be well. A satisfying, reassuring Australian picture book.

Horn Book (Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

In her third outing, Noni the Pony and pals are out walking when they happen upon a lost wallaby joey. Noni decides to help him find his kin, but the animals they question offer no clues. Will the joey ever find his family? This ultra-basic tale, with galloping rhymes and cotton-soft art, is just right for toddlers finally ready for stories.

Kirkus Reviews

After Noni the Pony and pals Coco (a cat) and Dave (a dog) meet a young wallaby on the trail, they help him find his family.Continuing her rhyming series, Lester lets Noni the Pony do what she does best—run free in the Australian hills. Noni is exploring with her two friends when they discover a lost, distressed wallaby joey. Thinking his family group, also called a mob, must be near, the four animals start looking. On their way, they meet several well-known Australian animals such as a koala, a wombat, a platypus, and an emu as well as others perhaps less familiar to American readers, such as an echidna, a possum, a goanna, and a quoll. Unfortunately, "no one has spotted the wallaby mob, / and Joey's small sniffle becomes a big sob," so Noni invites Joey to her home. It's there that they find Joey's wallaby family, and everyone celebrates their reunion by the light of the moon. This simple tale is a nifty introduction to Australian animals and their homes. As a read-aloud, the dialogue will need a bit of practice to keep the meter. Illustrations are colorful and detailed, with splashes of humor (Noni and Dave have identical orange-and-white coloring, and the cow chorus line is a hoot), but the wallaby family is shown as a father, mother and two children when usually only one wallaby is born at a time.A sweet tale of friends helping friends. (Picture book. 3-6)