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Possum Magic

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Possum Magic
First edition
AuthorMem Fox
IllustratorJulie Vivas
Cover artistJulie Vivas
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's picture book
PublisherOmnibus Books
Publication date
1983
Publication placeAustralia
Pages32 (unpaginated)
ISBN978-01-5200-572-6

Possum Magic is a 1983 Children's picture book by Australian author Mem Fox, and illustrated by Julie Vivas. It concerns a young female possum, named Hush, who becomes invisible and has a number of adventures. In 2001, a film was made by the American company Weston Woods and narrated by the author.

Plot

The two main characters are Grandma Poss and Hush. Hush has been made invisible by Grandma to protect her from Australian bush dangers. The story details the duo's adventures as they tour Australia searching for the secret to Hush's visibility. It is a rhythmical story of Australia's varied landscapes and the animals in them.

Development history

Fox wrote her first draft for Possum Magic in 1978, during a course in children's literature at Flinders University. Over five years, nine publishers rejected the draft. When it was accepted by Omnibus Books in Adelaide they asked Fox to reduce the book, then titled Hush the Invisible Mouse, by two-thirds (the original text ran four and a half pages without illustrations) and to change the mice to Australian animals to place emphasis on her Australian theme.[1]

Reception

Possum Magic is considered a classic in Australian children's literature.[2][3][4]

Reviews of Possum Magic have generally been positive. The Canberra Times called it "a wonderful story, a proper quest amid familiar surroundings,...".[5] Booklist wrote "This agreeable tale from down under is peppered with ``Australia-isms, but there is a zest to the story that transcends the language barrier".[6] Possum Magic has also been reviewed by Meanjin,[7] School Library Journal,[8] and Horn Book Guides[9]

In 2014 it topped the Australian Booksellers Association list of 50 Favourite Kids’ Books.[10]

It is Australia's best selling children's book with almost 5 million sales (as at 2017),[11][12] and has continually appeared on best seller lists.[13][14][15][16][17]

In 2017, the Royal Australian Mint struck a series of $1 and $2 coins to commemorate the book.[18]

In 2021, researchers from Edith Cowan University were critical of teachers over-relying on titles such as Possum Magic in the classroom because classic stories were not culturally diverse.[19][20] Despite finding Possum Magic included one illustration of a person of colour, the researchers expressed concern about books that featured animal characters, stating that stories about animals decreased the likelihood of children from minority backgrounds seeing characters representative of themselves.[19][21] The researchers recommended teachers use more contemporary texts which better represent a culturally diverse society, in addition to existing classic titles such as Possum Magic.[19] The research was criticised by several media commentators.[22][23]

Awards

Adaptations

A stage show adaptation was developed by Monkey Baa Theatre Company and toured Australia in 2019.[33][34] The adaptation was given a positive review by Judith Greenaway for ArtsHub Australia, who called it "detailed and beautiful and respectful of the original work".[35]

References

  1. ^ "Fox, Mem (1946-)", Trove, 2011, retrieved 2012-05-01
  2. ^ Maria Savvidis. "Stories in the sun". sl.nsw.gov.au. State Library of NSW. Retrieved 2 September 2021. The trend for popularising (and personifying) the country's native animals saw the creation of such classics as .. Mem Fox and Julie Vivas' Possum Magic (1983),
  3. ^ Dianne Smith (June 2000), "Biographical Note", A Guide to the papers of Mem Fox (PDF), Lue Rees Archive, p. 3, retrieved 2 September 2021
  4. ^ Beata Bowes (25 January 2018). "10 Classic Australian Children's Books". victorianopera.com.au. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  5. ^ Susan Nicholls (29 May 1983). "The best in children's books illustrated" (scan). The Canberra Times. p. 8. Retrieved 2 September 2021 – via Trove.
  6. ^ "Possum Magic". Booklist. American Library Association. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  7. ^ Eliza Berlage (2018). "Australia in Three Books". Meanjin. 77 (4). Melbourne University Publishing: 15–17. ISSN 0025-6293. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  8. ^ Jeanette Larson. "Possum Magic". School Library Journal. Media Source Inc. Retrieved 2 September 2021. A perfect choice for storytimes, but also useful for curriculum enrichment, thanks to a simplified map and glossary.
  9. ^ "Possum Magic". Horn Book Guides. Media Source Inc. Retrieved 2 September 2021. one enchanting book.
  10. ^ Deborah Bogle (8 August 2014). "Australia's 50 favourite children's books — words of magic to brighten kids' lives". The Advertiser (Adelaide). Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  11. ^ Admin (29 August 2017). "Nan Chauncy Award 2017". readingtime.com.au. Children's Book Council of Australia. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  12. ^ Dianne Smith (June 2000), "Biographical Note", A Guide to the papers of Mem Fox (PDF), Lue Rees Archive, p. 3, retrieved 2 September 2021
  13. ^ "The month's best-sellers" (scan). The Canberra Times. 1 August 1984. p. 27. Retrieved 2 September 2021 – via Trove.
  14. ^ "Months' bestsellers" (scan). The Canberra Times. 3 December 1986. p. 28. Retrieved 2 September 2021 – via Trove.
  15. ^ "'The 65-Storey Treehouse' tops Australian children's bestsellers charts". booksandpublishing.com.au. Books+Publishing. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  16. ^ "'Where is the Green Sheep?' tops bestsellers chart". booksandpublishing.com.au. Books+Publishing. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  17. ^ "'Definitely Do Not Open This Book' tops Australian picture book bestsellers chart". booksandpublishing.com.au. Books+Publishing. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  18. ^ "Discover the wonder of Possum Magic with limited edition collector coin series". Royal Australian Mint. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
  19. ^ a b c Adam, Helen; Hays, Anne-Maree; Urquhart, Yvonne (2021). "The Exclusive White World of Preservice Teachers' Book Selection for the Classroom: Influences and Implications for Practice". The Australian Journal of Teacher Education. 46 (8). doi:10.14221/ajte.2021v46n8.4. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  20. ^ O'Brien, Susie; Hodge, Regan (29 May 2022). "Popular children books deemed not culturally diverse enough". Herald Sun. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  21. ^ Goodall, Hamish (2 June 2022). "Australian researcher claims children's book are not diverse enough". 7 News. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  22. ^ Molan, Erin (3 June 2022). "Erin Molan: Storm over classic kids' books is diversity gone mad". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  23. ^ Richards, Kel (1 June 2022). "Kel Richards: Beloved children's classics are being sacrificed at the altar of politically correct wokery". Sky News Australia. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  24. ^ a b "Possum Magic". austlit.edu.au. AustLit. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  25. ^ "YABBA Hall of Fame". yabba.org.au. Young Australians Best Book Awards Council. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  26. ^ Leanne Mason (27 October 1991). "Schoolchildren judge two authors as the most cool" (scan). The Canberra Times. p. 37. Retrieved 2 September 2021 – via Trove.
  27. ^ Kathleen T. Horning; Ginny Moore Kruse; Merri Lindgren (1991). "Picture Books". CCBC Choices (PDF). Cooperative Children's Book Center. p. 40. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  28. ^ "Complete List of KOALA Winners" (PDF). static1.squarespace.com. KOALA. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  29. ^ Justine Power, ed. (2018). IBBY Australia Honour Books List 1962-2018. IBBY Australia. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-646-99553-3.
  30. ^ Peter Fuller (14 March 1984). "Short lists for children's books" (scan). The Canberra Times. p. 28. Retrieved 2 September 2021 – via Trove.
  31. ^ "Children's awards: Theme of book 'transcends age'" (scan). The Canberra Times. 21 July 1984. p. 8. Retrieved 2 September 2021 – via Trove.
  32. ^ Dianne Smith (June 2000), "Awards", A Guide to the papers of Mem Fox (PDF), Lue Rees Archive, p. 5, retrieved 2 September 2021
  33. ^ "Possum Magic | Monkey Baa Theatre Company, Darling Quarter". Monkey Baa. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  34. ^ "Possum Magic stage show to tour the country". Radio National. 2019-04-15. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  35. ^ Greenaway, Judith. "Review: Possum Magic, Sydney Opera House". ArtsHub Australia. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
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