Possum's Big Surprise

Possum's Big Surprise by Colin Buchanan and Nina Rycroft (Scholastic Australia)

PB RRP $14.99

ISBN 978-1-742839271

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Flossy the Possum is trying to get home as fast as she can. But other bush creatures keep surprising her along the way. Undeterred, Flossy keeps going until she reaches home, where the biggest surprise of all is waiting for her.

Possum's Big Surprise is uplifting and fun. The text is constructed to create a wonderful build up to the big surprise at the end and has a rollicking rhythm which just begs to be read aloud.

'Off in a flash and a tumble of grey,

Flossy the Possum was up and away!

She dashed past the wattle, golden and green,

Flossy the Possum ran nimble and keen.'

The illustrations have a sense of movement which echoes the rhyme; the pictures and words working beautifully together to bring the story to the reader. The artist has created lovely Aussie animal characters and an observant reader will notice clues along the way to the end surprise.

Young children will take great delight in the 'eye spy' element of this book. The repetitive nature of the story, along with the rhythm and illustrations will keep them coming back again and again.