Good Morning Possum

Good Morning Possum by Coral Vass, illustrations by Sona Babajanyan (Koala Books)
PB RRP $14.99
ISBN 978-1-74276-050-6
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

From the front cover illustration’s, and incredibly cute possum with huge eyes hugging a plum, Good Morning Possum is a very sweet book about sharing with friends. Blossom the possum is hungry one morning and goes out to find herself a plum. But when she brings it home, other creatures in the tree ask for a bite.

   Out on the branch
   Came a rum, rumble tum.
   Tree Mouse was hoping
   To share Blossom’s plum.

So Blossom shares with all her friends - except Dingo as Blossom knows he would rather eat her than the plum – until there is nothing left for poor Blossom’s rumbling tum. Then Grandma Possum arrives with a basket of plums to share.

This is a great book to read out loud to the very young. The soft, gentle rhythm is consistent and the rhyme works. The verses are repetitive throughout the story which is perfect for young children and the text is filled with lots of sounds – ‘ratter, tap, tap,’ ‘nip, nibble, nip!’ and ‘rum, rumble rum’.

The story ‘builds up to’ the dingo but by then all the animals are safe in the tree nibbling on the plum. The illustrations glow with warm light. And the many Australian animals that are pictured so sweetly in Good Morning Possum commonly live in our trees.

This is a delightful happy story, perfect for sharing with preschool children.