Possum Magic by Mem Fox; illustrated by Julie Vivas
Since becoming a Mum a year and a half ago, I have read a plethora of children’s storybooks. Good thing I work in a library and have thousands at my fingertips to borrow and read for my little boy. One of my favourites is Mem Fox’s Possum Magic.
A copy of the book was gifted to us for my son, and when he was a newborn, I read it to him almost every day. Now he is a toddler and hardly keeps still, so we don’t read it as often, but when we do it’s usually read back to front or pages are skipped. That’s perfectly fine though because he is learning to enjoy reading.
The book follows Grandma Poss and little Hush as they travel through Australia looking for food to eat that will make Hush visible again after Grandma Poss made her invisible to keep her safe from Snakes. The beautiful watercolour illustrations are very captivating and easily grab my son’s attention. He also loves pointing out the different animals as we read through the book.
Reading about the yummy, scrumptious food that Hush eats always makes me hungry; who doesn’t love lamingtons and a vegemite sandwich? I’d love to set out a picnic for us one day to eat all the different foods that hush ate on her journey, along with reading the book.
It’s a delightful book that makes an especially good bedtime story.
Maigan Agapay
Thanks to Gladstone Regional Libraries for this book review. All books featured in the review are available for loan through the library.